The Clarity of Everything
by Dante Kreisler
Summary: And by everything, he means absolutely nothing. A second life is complicated enough when traveling with the Avatar. Self-Insert OC. Eventual Romance.
1. Water : Jet :: Meeting

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water: Jet :: Meeting

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sai! You're early!"

A figure at a distance responded to the name. A lanky teenager with long black-hair rose from his sitting position on a boulder and stretched stiff limbs. A katana hung from his belt with hard leather greaves covering the shins and forearms. A crew of teenagers in patched armor led by a spiky brown-haired teenager at the front of the pack jogged up to the meeting spot.

"No, you're just late," the companionless person corrected and hefted one of the many stuffed sacks from the ground. Once the group got closer, the red and black covered swordsman hurled a bag towards the leader. With expert reflexes, the bag was easily caught and slung over a shoulder.

"Smellerbee was taking a while to get ready, for some reason." The mash of youngsters behind their leader snuffled their laughter when the only girl in the Freedom Fighters glared at them.

The dark-haired teenager smiled and ruffled the girl's messy hair, ignoring her blush.

"Jet, don't make excuses," he jokingly reprimanded and gestured to the guerilla fighters to begin taking the bags behind him. There weren't that many, but each was filled to the brim with varying scavenged materials: cloth, shoes, cups, soap, candles, and towels and more. Sai knew that the objects would go unnoticed in Gaipan, the Earth Kingdom village nearby he was currently stationed at. He had gone through the dumpsters and washed the stuff in a stream before putting them in bags.

While the Freedom Fighters hauled the goods, Jet approached their supply partner out of earshot of the others.

"You know...you're welcome to visit the hideout," Jet said in a low voice while casting a conspiratorial eye over the Fire Nation soldier's face. Both teenagers were relatively of the same height, but Sai knew that he was taller and while neither was intimidated by each other, the black-haired one didn't want to lose Jet's trust. Sai grimaced. He's been putting off the invitations, but didn't want to seem suspicious about it.

"I told you that I'd like to," he said in a hushed tone. "Honestly, I want to see the hideout, but if the soldiers back in town found out about it, I don't want to be a liability."

It was logical reasoning in Sai's point of view. As much as Sai was willing to help the guerilla fighters, he also wanted to maintain loyalty to his soldiers. He didn't want to risk the Freedom Fighter's secret base, but also disliked keeping secrets behind his men's backs. Sneaking out food and supplies twice a month was stressful for him.

And I'm interfering enough with this universe already _,_ he thought sullenly.

Jet smirked, oblivious of the thoughts that ran across his partner's mind.

"Come on, you don't have anything special happening today, do you?" The Duke exclaimed, his helmet tilting precariously towards the right.

"Well…," Sai began and shook his hand in a so-so motion.

"That settles it," Jet decided and wrapped an arm around Sai's shoulder, dragging him with his team. The rest of the fighters stationed themselves around their leader, leaving no escape options for the Fire Nation soldier. Since he preferred his own personal space, Sai's hand kept straying to the hilt of his katana as a source of reassurance against the close proximity of bodies around him.

The other indication of Sai's discomfort was the light smile that grew tighter and tighter as they got closer to their destination. He was nevertheless curious about the secret hideout. He's always wanted to go up in a tree house. Even though there was an inner voice that screamed for him to leave the situation, Sai went along with the group.

The zip line to the treetops definitely made the trip worth it.

"Impressive, right?"

Sai hummed in agreement as he took in the view above the trees. Flicking the blade of wheat grass in his mouth, Jet noted that their Fire Nation smuggler was being more quiet than usual. Sai had a reserved disposition in general, however right now he seemed more moody. Jet opened his mouth, intending to ask Sai what was bothering him when The Duke came forward.

The Duke ran up to the group, yelling excitedly, "Jet! Sneers spotted a campsite with a huge load of boxes, with only about twenty soldiers!"

Jet turned to Sai, with a mockingly regretful look on his face. He said with a humorous apologetic tone, "I'd invite you to join, but…"

The Fire Nation soldier shrugged understandably, unperturbed by the irony of the statement.

"Can't blow my cover," Sai agreed with him. "I'll wait up here?"

Jet nodded and headed for the cables. "Give yourself a tour, there's a lot to see. We'll be back soon."

"Don't be too overconfident," he called out as Jet and the team jumped from the trees. The only response was a grin before they landed on the ground. Following The Duke's lead, the guerilla fighters disappeared into the forest. Once they were out of sight, the pleasant expression slid off Sai's face.

Even though sacking Fire Nation camps was something the Freedom Fighters did on a regular basis without his assistance, Sai was still bothered by it of course. Those soldiers were from his own country yet it was one the agreements he and Jet had settled on: Sai would provide whatever supplies he could get his hands on, Jet wouldn't terrorize the townspeople, only groups of soldiers, and lastly, Sai wouldn't reveal Fire Nation activities unless it directly affected them. Jet at first had objected to the last part, so it wasn't until Sai had to put the details into perspective where if their situations were reversed that Jet considered it. It took some time, but Jet reluctantly agreed to after Sai said that he couldn't be held accountable for whatever they would do to Fire Nation soldiers. Sai only hoped that they didn't take lives, but Smellerbee so far has assured him that all they mostly inflicted were concussions. Longshot's aim was so good that he could shoot arrows to disarm rather than physically harm. Most of the Freedom Fighters' weapons lacked hard metal, although Sai was mainly concerned about Jet's tiger hook blades with the razor sharp edges at the handles.

As an attempt to distract himself from his worries, Sai crossed a bridge to another tree platform, meeting and greeting people along the way. Surprisingly, a lot of them already knew that he was their secret supplier from town. Sai wasn't worried about his identity being exposed. This particular crowd of teenagers and kids knew how important keepings secrets were. They were living on a secret base hidden in trees after all. Sai was more relaxed with the fact that everyone was at ease with him, a person of the Fire Nation.

If only they knew how close I am with the capital, he thought sardonically. Jet and the team didn't even know Sai's full identity. After zip lining through the trees for an hour, Sai settled in with the refugees, talking amiably. He wanted to wait until the Freedom Fighters returned from their little party so that he could give an official goodbye instead of leaving without a word to the leader.

When almost three hours of socializing, Sai excused himself to retreat to a more quiet area to review the information he had just gleaned from the band of young refugees. No doubt everyone up here adored and admired their leader. The good news was that Jet lately seemed to think highly of Sai, something that was flattering, surprising, and reassuring at the same time. The bad news was that Jet was still unhappy about the Fire Nation occupation in Gaipan, which meant the rebel leader has yet to be satisfied with their current situation. The recurring observation troubled Sai. The small Earth Kingdom village inhabitants were actually, dare he say it, content with the Fire Nation soldiers. Under Sai's authority, the villagers and soldiers have been getting along relatively well for the past year. However Jet wasn't under the same impression and was still convinced that anyone remotely affiliated with the Fire Nation was evil.

The sound of rope whistling through the air woke Sai from his contemplations and he headed over to meet the returning vigilantes. What he didn't expect however, were newcomers.

He heard them before he saw them because-

"FIRE NATION!"

Sai flinched and quickly scanned the area, searching for a Fire Nation soldier in the trees. Sai was confused until he saw a tanned teenage boy pointing at him with a decorated blue club in the other hand. The stranger screeched a war cry before attempting his first strike.

"Take this!" The boy swung at Sai's head, but in one fluid motion, the Fire Nation smuggler ducked and grabbed the attacking wrist. Twisting the joint and tripping him with an ankle hook, the boy fell to the ground with the strange club clattering harmlessly next to him. Sai let go of the attacker's wrist once Jet and the rest of the group got closer.

"Sokka! Are you alright?"

Following the Freedom Fighters were two other newcomers Sai didn't recognize. A girl with similar dark skin coloring and blue clothes went up to the boy on the ground. The boy clutched his wrist and groaned, glaring up at Sai. The girl, maybe his sister, also looked reproachfully at him, but with less aggression.

"He's Fire Nation, what's he doing here? I thought your base was safe?!" The boy shouted at Jet.

"Sai is one of us," Smellerbee snapped.

"He's our Fire Nation spy," Jet clarified with a chuckle. The three newcomers echoed Jet's word.

"Spy?"

"I'm more like their supplier from the Fire Nation town nearby," Sai explained and held out a hand for the tanned boy. As Sokka took the hand at an arm's length, Jet began the introductions.

"Sai, meet Aang, Sokka, and Katara. We ran into them during our raid."

Sai lifted a brow when Jet made a subtle glance towards the third introduction, but held out his hand to the rest of them.

"Sai, Fire Nation soldier from the nearby town Gaipan," he said shortly. "Sorry about the fall earlier," he added to Sokka. The Water Tribe boy looked surprised to receive the apology. The surprise most likely stemmed from the weeks they've had Fire Nation soldiers chase them. Such apologetic words were unexpected.

"Uh, it's fine?" The corner of Sai's mouth twitched when Sokka's voice cracked. Sai thought that the entire situation was amusing. It helped that he was at least a head taller than all of them.

Katara and Sokka eyed the older teenager warily while Aang grinned widely. The airbender was excited to have finally met a person from the Fire Nation who wasn't after his head. The group altogether headed to the largest treetop platform. Katara and Aang quickly integrated themselves with the kids their ages and sat down at the dinner table, but Sokka withdrew to the side. Jet walked away at someone's request, leaving Sai in the company of the Water Tribe boy.

Sokka asked dubiously, "So how did you end up helping Jet and the Freedom Fighters?" Aang swooped down next to Sai, interested in the story.

"We actually met the same way you and I met, only instead of you swinging your club at me, Jet had his hook blades," Sai responded, frowning at the memory.

Sokka visibly brightened. "Jet got thrown to the ground?"

Sai chuckled. "No, we were at each other's throats for several minutes before the rest of his team intervened. We ended up talking and coming to an agreement." Sokka sulked at the difference of the outcome while Aang was impressed that the soldier from the Fire Nation was able to resolve the fight peacefully, even making a deal at the end of it.

"Just like that?" Katara had overheard the last part and was slightly astonished. She didn't think that Jet would so easily make a deal with a person from the Fire Nation. He seemed to hold a strong grudge against all Fire Nation people, although his relationship with Sai contradicted that.

"It was rocky at first," Sai admitted and reached for a cup of lychee juice. "A lot of trust issues and suspiciousness from their part, which is perfectly understandable, but it worked out in the end."

"So how are the villagers? Are the Fire Nation soldiers treating them bad?" Aang asked.

Sai choked on his drink. "You guys think we're oppressing the villagers?"

The benders exchanged looks. "We thought, you were?" Katara said with hesitation. Before Sai could respond, Jet appeared and tapped Sai on the shoulder.

"Going to talk to this guy for a moment," Jet interrupted with a smile. Katara smiled back while Sokka's face soured. They watched the two older teenagers separate themselves from the crowd.

"You know, Jet said that they were going to 'free' the Earth Kingdom village from the Fire Nation," Sokka noted with suspicion. His frown grew deeper as he watched Jet and Sai talking at a distance in quiet voices. Katara and Aang uneasily reflected on Sokka's words because Jet's story didn't seem to quite match Sai's reaction.

"Are you staying?" Jet asked and flicked his heads towards the dinner table. Some kids were setting up plates, eating utensils, and dishes. Many were already seated. The food smelled tempting, but Sai has already overstayed his time limit. If he was gone any longer, soldiers would be asking where he had gone.

Sai shook his head regretfully. "There's a crew with a royal message coming tonight and all soldiers have to be there for the announcement."

Jet scanned Sai's face. For all the trust they've built for the past year and a half, Jet overall was still a cautious guy despite his bravado and confidence. Sai briefly wondered if Jet was like this was only with him because he was Fire Nation.

"Are you going to tell us about it?" The undertone of a challenge was heavy in his question. Sai broke eye contact and observed the kids laughing and talking merrily in front of them. The guerilla fighter was testing him and was expecting a 'no', which was what Sai would usually say. However it was different this time.

"Actually, I probably will be. We haven't received a royal message before, ever. So it's going to be something important," Sai confessed and rubbed the back of his neck to relieve some tense muscles. Jet's eyes widened for a moment, indicating his surprise, before lowering them.

"Something big," he concluded and leaned against the wall next to Sai. He chewed on his blade of wheat thoughtfully before clapping a hand on Sai's shoulder.

"Thanks for today, man," he said. The two walked together to the cables and Sai gripped a handle, getting ready for the drop. However before Sai could say his own goodbye, Aang burst into the scene.

"Sai, you're leaving already? Aren't you staying to eat?" The smuggler smiled at him because the airbender seemed genuinely disappointed in finding out about his absence.

"I'll be back," Sai responded with a questioning expression towards Jet.

"You're welcome anytime," Jet said confidently.

"Then I'll see you hopefully again," Sai told the airbender.

* * *

oOo

* * *

As she helped someone carry dishes to the dinner table, Katara examined the Fire Nation smuggler curiously. He had a sword and wore none of the signature red and black armor, but that didn't mean he wasn't defenseless. His speech was clear even though he spoke bluntly. Katara personally thought that despite the lightly tanned skin, he gave off an air of a noble rather than a common soldier with his sharp features and sophisticated mannerisms.

And good-looking, Katara noted with a slight blush as she watched him and the leader of the Freedom Fighters discuss something privately. The contrast between the two older teenage boys was somewhat striking. Whereas Sai had a refined appearance that was unquestionably attractive, Jet's features were more ruggedly flashy, and that added to his charm. Katara tore her gaze away before her mind could go any further into admiring the two. She jabbed Sokka with her elbow to prevent him from glaring at them though. When Aang was nowhere in sight, she glanced around.

"Where's Aang?"

"He said he needed to go to the bathroom," Sokka replied while smacking his lips, distracted by hunger. He was much too eager to start eating. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother, silently hoping that there would be enough food for Aang left on their side of the table if Sokka continued eyeing all the edibles like that. Distracted by unpleasant thoughts of a bathroom system inside a hideout up in the trees, she didn't notice Jet and Sai leaving and tried chatting with Smellerbee sitting opposite of her.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Right when Sai walked through the village gates, his duties began once a Fire Nation soldier approached him.

"Sir, the letter from the Fire Nation capital arrived with a group of straggling soldiers," the soldier reported while holding a sealed scroll. "They came about an hour ago, saying that they were delayed because of an attack by those teenage vigilantes this morning." Sai lifted a brow and took the scroll. He didn't think that the Fire Nation group Jet had attacked would have been the same one that held the royal message.

"Tell their captain that I'll meet with him at Yoon's restaurant in fifteen minutes," Sai responded and waved away the soldier to relay the message. Sai was reluctant to unravel the scroll since letters from the capital were never completely a pleasant occurrence. Ignoring that he was in public, Sai made a 'tsk' sound, audibly showing his displeasure as he read the contents of the scroll.

It was an order for him to move on to 'conquer' the neighboring towns and to unify the area and ultimately, to build a pinnacle fortress as a future Fire Nation strategic point. More soldiers and another general were going to be sent for the project.

Sai didn't want to do that. Managing the number of soldiers right now was troubling enough, but more conquering? Sai decided to think about it later and tucked the scroll into his waistband and headed over to his favorite and only restaurant in the village.

Sai stepped inside the humble structure, pausing to inhale the hearty smell of dinner, and called out for the owner and chef of the eatery. "Yoon! I'm going to need two duck and potato gruels in about fifteen minutes, is that alright?"

An old, middle-aged man's head stuck out the door of the kitchen, jumpy at the sudden call.

"Sir! Are you meeting someone?"

Sai nodded. "I wanted to discuss some matters over dinner with a captain, may we have the meeting here?"

Immediately setting out to please the Fire Nation serviceman, the owner dashed over to a secluded table and began wiping it with a damp cloth. "Of course! Of course! You must want a table with some room, right?"

"Thank you, I'm sorry about the late notice," Sai apologized. The owner raised his hands defensively, shaking his head.

"None, none at all! It is always a pleasure for you to eat here. Your food will be ready shortly," the man replied quickly and hurried to the kitchen, shouting orders to his workers along the way. Sai chuckled lightly to himself at the older man's antics and relaxed into his chair, popping his neck. He hasn't eaten Yoon's food in a while and was looking forward to it. Sai was glad that he and the restaurant owner were on good terms with each other. Before the Fire Nation's arrival, the village of Gaipan had mostly been under the leadership of the aged Yoon. Befriending the restaurant owner had been one of Sai's best decisions when they had first come into the town.

In less than ten minutes, a ruffled captain with a goatee, an eye patch, and full hard armor walked into the restaurant. Sai stood up in greeting and gestured for the man to take a seat. The captain took off his helmet, sitting down with confusion written on his face.

"Name?"

"Captain Han. I'm here to speak with the general?"

A corner of Sai's lips upturned. "You're talking to him."

The captain squeaked in embarrassment and banged his knee against the table as he bolted to his feet, bowing at ninety degrees. "Oh! Uh-I, um, I'm very sorry, sir, I didn't mean to disrespect you. I was just not expecting you to appear so-"

"So young," Sai finished for him and laughed aloud. The sound relieved the tension in the captain's soldiers as he sat back down. "It's fine, you're not the first."

The captain fidgeted in his seat, the redness hasn't left his face yet. "Sir, out of curiosity, may I ask how old you were when you became general?"

Sai absently tapped the surface of the table. "I believe I was promoted on my fifteenth birthday."

The older man balked at the answer. "Fifteen," he muttered and then his eyes lit up. "Oh, I've heard of you when I was still in the barracks! Sir, you studied under the Dragon of the West _and_ you're the youngest in history to gain the rank of a general!" He said excitedly. Such a military figure was a legend among foot soldiers.

"I was third youngest and promoted to fill in an empty spot once the High General himself retired," Sai corrected him and his easygoing smile suddenly turned cold. The general folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "And speaking of age, I heard you and your men were ambushed by a group of youngsters?"

The sudden turn of conversation caught the captain off-guard.

"Ah-yes, sir," he stammered, his voice growing smaller as he explained. "It happened this morning. Three travelers with peculiar clothing had distracted us when the group dropped from the trees and took over. After tying us up, they took all of our weapons, supplies, and the four crates of blasting jelly we were supposed to deliver. I was incapacitated the moment we were ambushed and was informed by my men of what happened after waking up," he finished sheepishly. Captain Han's voice shook while voicing the humiliating account.

"Distracted by three travelers with peculiar clothing," Sai repeated slowly. The captain couldn't meet the narrow eyes of his superior and the palms of his hands began to sweat when the young general stayed quiet. The silence reigned until bustling, robust Yoon trotted over to their table with two, steaming bowls at hand.

"Your meals, sirs," the owner said, unfazed by the anxiety on the captain's face.

"Thank you, Yoon," Sai said gratefully and looked pointedly at the mustached man. "Aren't you going to thank the owner for his food?"

The captain cleared his throat. "Thank you for the food," he managed, but didn't touch his food. The man salivated when the delicious aroma reached his nostrils. He couldn't recall the last time he enjoyed a decent tasty meal on a table after weeks of traveling on ground. The one thing that was holding him back, however, was the intensity of the general's gaze. Captain Han regretted having a laid back demeanor during his first words with the teenager and mentally scolded himself for turning lax once he had discovered that the general was younger than him. Despite the young age, the general was still a general with all of its authority.

"Captain Han, what about your men? Were any of your soldiers injured during the ambush?"

The captain blinked. "No sir, no one was seriously injured. Only minor concussions and bruises miraculously."

Sai nodded in a satisfied manner and motioned for the older man to begin eating.

"Then it wasn't a complete loss," Sai said and turned to his own bowl of soup. The captain sat still for several seconds, bewildered at the reversal of the tense atmosphere until the words finally sunk in.

He considered the safety of the soldiers as a part of the report, Captain Han realized. And at that thought, the captain cheerfully helped himself to a good meal.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The next morning was a mess. Sai blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he listened to a soldier's report about an incident regarding an elderly Fire Nation man. He wanted to go back to his room and sleep the day away, but this was a problem.

"So they just robbed you?" Sai questioned the old man. "Anything else?"

Elder Gazu rubbed his hands and his voice trembled. "I bumped into a large fellow and fell to the ground. One was going to kick me when another stopped him. The person who helped me called their leader 'Jet'."

Sai bit back a groan as he continued listening to the old man's account. The young general finished up the questioning, thanking the man and got ready for a day outside the village. He was going to have to visit Jet today.

Sai held a hardened expression the entire way to the hideout. Once he was pulled up into the trees, Sai asked for directions to Jet's room and knocked on the wooden frame of the entrance.

"Come in."

Sai flicked the curtain aside and walked in. Jet grinned in greeting and was sitting on a log shaped as a stool.

"Sai, nice to see you visiting. You got that message for me?"

"Yeah, you're not going to like it," Sai said curtly. "But I wanted to talk about something else first."

Jet lifted his eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Why did you jump on that old man this morning?"

The leader of the Freedom Fighters rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Sai, you know the deal we made. We'll raid whoever we want and you won't spill."

"Jet, he was just an old man," Sai retorted. "His name is Gazu and he was making his way back to Gaipan after a visit to one of the other neighboring villages. He was harmless, so why did you rob him?"

Jet stood up. "The Fire Nation are out to get us and you're worried about an old man?"

"The Fire Nation are not 'out to get' you guys," Sai said in exasperation. "It's one thing if you're after a group of trained soldiers, but targeting only one person from the Fire Nation, an elderly man at that, isn't going to get you anywhere."

"They're all the same," Jet shot back. "The Fire Nation are all evil and we have to get rid of all of them from this place."

"Then I'll have you know that the royal message states that we've been ordered to move to the next town," Sai said tightly. Jet jumped to his feet, enraged.

"You're taking over another village? You said you were stationed here?!" The volume of the rebel leader's voice rose.

"I am stationed here, but it's changed now. I can't do anything about it."

Jet narrowed his eyes at Sai's words and grinded the blade of grass between his teeth. Jet hated the Fire Nation. He's always has and has hoped before that Sai would join his Freedom Fighters in the future, but now….He has barrels of blasting jelly, a waterbender, and the Avatar in his hands. With the information Sai has given him, Jet knew that he couldn't allow the Fire Nation soldiers to live any longer. He's tolerated their existence far too long for Sai's sake.

"They need to be stopped. Take your choice, Sai. It's either us or the Fire Nation." Jet said 'Fire Nation' as if it was the worst thing in the world. Dark brown irises bore down light amber ones. The tension was thick in the air and both teenagers knew that this was a question that has been hanging over their heads from the first day they've met each other.

"Jet, you know I can't turn my back on my homeland," Sai said cautiously. Regret pricked Jet at the loss of a potentially great addition to his team, but he shoved the pointless feeling down. Sai was no longer a friend if he was going to make that choice.

"Then leave."

The Fire Nation general was at first taken aback at the terse dismissal, but Sai exited the room without another word. The swordsman would have left the hideout within the next few seconds however he caught Katara and Aang eavesdropping behind a corner. Sai only dipped his head and stalked off when the two benders waved weakly

"Wait, Sai!"

Aang and Katara hurried after the Fire Nation smuggler.

"We're sorry for overhearing, but what was that all about?" Katara asked. They had only caught the end snippets of the heated conversation and Katara felt uncomfortable that Sai was leaving on a bitter note.

"Yeah, we heard your voices from outside the walls," Aang added.

Sai breathed deeply and reigned in his composure. "Jet attacked a Fire Nation citizen this morning, which was uncalled for. We agreed that he would only pick on soldiers, not old men traveling alone." Sai didn't want to talk about the latter half of their fallout.

"But Jet said that old man was an assassin sent to kill him," Katara defended. Sai directed a sharp look at the waterbender.

"Did he really? Because the old man that I know Jet attacked has a bad case tendonitis in the right knee and can only walk properly if he has a cane," Sai said sharply. Aang and Katara reeled at the opposing evidence. "If you're going to get facts, get it from more than one source available," Sai bit out and continued walking. Katara clenched her fists and stood her ground in front of Sai.

She fired, "Oh yeah? Well, what about your Fire Nation plan to burn down the forest?"

Sai lifted a brow. There was no plan to burn down the forest. The forest was an abundant natural resource full of hunting game, wood, and plants for the townspeople and Fire Nation soldiers. It'd be a huge waste to burn it down. "There is no plan," he said as though what Katara had accused him of was preposterous.

Katara's indignant expression faltered. "But Jet said.."

"Again, get your information from more than one source, it'll save you a lot of future embarrassment," Sai repeated brusquely. "He most likely said that just so he could get you two to do something for him. Let me guess, he asked for your help in filling up the reservoir above the valley so that it could fight back the flames of our 'fire'?"

Aang widened his eyes. "How'd you know?"

"Even after more than a year of me talking to him, Jet never got over his hatred for the Fire Nation. The four crates full of blasting jelly from the group they raided yesterday while protecting you guys probably got his gears turning. I've been suspecting that he's wanted to wipe out the Fire Nation soldiers stationed here for good," Sai remarked grimly.

Katara placed her hands on her hips, questioning, "Wait, how will filling up the reservoir 'wipe out' the Fire Nation soldiers here?"

Sai rubbed his chin. "Right, I forgot to mention that the river is currently dammed to control the amount of water running through the valley."

Aang gasped. "The Earth Kingdom town is at the center of the valley, isn't it?" Sai nodded.

"And he's needs blasting jelly to…," Katara concluded and stepped backwards when the realization hit her. "Jet wouldn't do that. He cares for that town!"

"Maybe he would and maybe he wouldn't, but I'm not taking chances," Sai said. "I have to go back to Gaipan to warn them."

Katara and Aang stayed at their spots as the Fire Nation soldier left, feeling unsettled from the conversation.

"Do you think Jet would really do that?" Katara asked Aang.

Aang looked down. "I hope not," he admitted. "We can only find out by asking Jet." Katara agreed. She wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"We need to find Sokka and talk to Jet."

* * *

oOo

* * *

That same day, Jet set out his plan to the Freedom Fighters. They were unopposed to removing the Fire Nation from the area, however one person came to mind when Jet told them they were going to take out the Earth Kingdom village.

"But Jet, Sai lives in Gaipan!" Smellerbee protested. Pipsqueak and The Duke looked equally as agitated. They didn't want to hurt someone who's been helping them for more than a year now. Sai has always been nice, contrary to their normal image of a Fire Nation soldier. Longshot hid his expression under his wide hat while Sneers munched on jelly candy, standing in the sidelines of the exchange.

"Smellerbee, he lied to us," Jet growled. "He's not just a soldier, I followed him to the edge of that town today, and he's not just any soldier, he's a high ranking officer."

"What do you mean?" The Duke asked.

"He's a Fire Nation general," Jet answered in a dark tone. "Meaning he's been playing us all along. Sai has been spying on us this whole time."

Shock spread through Freedom Fighters. Discovering that someone you had hoped was on your side, secretly against the Fire Nation, but actually wasn't, was devastatingly jarring.

"On my signal," Jet sternly reminded Longshot. "Sneers, go with Longshot. The rest of you take two of the barrels over to the reservoir. We need to free the hot water trapped underground to fill up the reservoir by planting the jelly inside the dirt."

"I thought you said that the two benders were going to fill it up," Smellerbee asked.

Jet grimaced. "Katara and Aang tried waterbending, but couldn't. Katara said they haven't had enough training to be able to waterbend water they couldn't see, so we'll have to free the water ourselves. I told them to stay up in the hideout for today."

"I dunno, Jet, this feels a bit too much," The Duke said in slight hesitation. "Won't the townspeople get wiped out too?"

Jet softened his expression and laid a hand on The Duke's shoulder. "Sacrifices have to be made if we want to get rid of the Fire Nation for good," he reassured them. "Now let's move. The faster we get the reservoir filled, the sooner we can blow up the dam."

* * *

oOo

* * *

The first indication that set alarm bells ringing in Sai's head was the first explosion that came from above the valley.

After the second explosion, Sai knew that Jet was up to something with the blasting jelly. He mentally cursed himself for not checking on the reservoir before returning to the village. Sai didn't know what the explosions meant. Did Jet blow up the dam? What was the second explosion for then? Did Katara and Aang end up helping Jet in filling up the reservoir?

The villagers were still in the middle of getting ready to leave and Sai worried that they were going to be out of time if those two explosions had been for the dam. Slinging his sturdy traveling pack over a shoulder, Sai strapped on his sword belt with his katana and stepped out to meet his soldiers, finding a commotion at the front gate.

Sokka's preteen voice cried among the rowdiness of the crowd. "You have to believe me!"

"What's going on here?" Sai barked and sent a deadly stare of ' _Keep quiet or else_ ' at Sokka. The Water Tribe boy wisely closed his mouth and allowed a soldier to explain.

"Sir, this person walked in claiming that the dam is soon going to be blown up by the rebel forces, but we heard those two explosions just now and we don't even know if it was the dam-"

"Those two blasts you just heard were to blow up the ground up the valley to release water underneath to fill the reservoir. The next explosion is definitely the dam," Sokka interjected, desperate to give reason. "You have to believe me, you guys have a little more time until the reservoir fills up, but this town will soon be flooded once the water level is high enough."

"And how can we trust you? For all we know, you could be their spy, stalling and giving us false details," the soldier retaliated.

"Enough," Sai snapped. "Take the boy to the village gate," he told another soldier. He couldn't let Sokka witness what authority he held within the town and waited until he was sure Sokka couldn't hear what he was saying.

Elder Gazu stepped forward from the crowd and turned to Sai. "Trust the boy. He was the one who prevented me from getting hurt this morning." All eyes turned to Sai for the final decision. Sai sucked in a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally listing priorities.

"Tell the everyone that we have to leave. Now," he ruled against the cries of the townspeople. "Take only your most precious and necessary possessions because we need to move fast. The rebel group took blasting jelly from their recent raid so I don't want to the risk the possibilities. I'm going to try and prevent the explosion at the dam."

Captain Han from nearby paled at the order, urging, "Sir, you have to let more soldiers come with you-"

Sai cut him off. "No, what I'm doing requires only one person. Besides, that's not priority. The villagers here need all of your help to pack up their belongings and move to the next town. I'll meet you there once the flood is over."

"Sir, what if-"

"And if I'm not back, then I'm placing my second-in-command colonel in charge of our troops from now on. The new wave of Fire Nation soldiers arriving will be led by a general, so until then, our colonel will be in command. Captain Han, I'm ordering you to relay this to the colonel," Sai finished with a tone of steel. "Now move, we don't have time."

The captain's face pinched, unhappy at his general's self-declared sacrifice, but obediently barked instructions to his fellow soldiers.

Sai went over to Sokka. "Let's go," he said and headed for the forest. Once the village gates were out of sight, Sai commented, "Nice timing, by the way. And thanks for showing up, we were able to have a better grasp on the situation."

"Jet's crazy!" Sokka babbled. "When we tried to talk him out of his evil plan, he attacked us! Katara and Aang have been trying to delay the flow of the water, so I went ahead with Appa to warn the town. We need to stop Jet from blowing up the dam!"

"Who's Appa?" Sai questioned.

"Our flying bison," Sokka replied as though it was the most obvious answer.

"If you say so," Sai muttered and restrained himself from gaping at the large, furry mammal. Sai climbed onto the furry bison after Sokka and held on tight as they flew up the valley.

"Take me down to the other side of the dam, I'll stop whoever supposed to light the blasting jelly." Sai pointed to a spot near the dam. The Fire Nation's soldier's stomach tightened when he saw how much water had already built up on one side of the wooden structure. Sokka nodded and quickly snapped on the reins. Just as the bison's feet touched the ground, Sai jumped off the saddle, tucking into a roll.

"I'll come back," Sokka promised and took off. Not wasting a second, Sai dashed towards the dam, spotting two red barrels placed at its center. Just when he took another step, intending to push the barrels to move them away from the dam, an arrow at his feet stopped him in his tracks. Sai looked up, scanning the trees until he found the expert bowman camping on a thick branch.

"Longshot," Sai called out. "What are you doing?"

Longshot verbally didn't answer and notched a second arrow to his bowstring, aiming for the Fire Nation soldier. The action said enough for Sai to understand.

"Longshot, you know I can't let you fire these barrels," Sai said slowly. "You have to let me move them."

The bowman didn't move from his position, arms still stretched and ready. Longshot's eyes flickered to a figure behind Sai and a crunch of gravel warned Sai of the person behind him.

The red and black clothed swordsman whirled around and dodged Sneers' wooden bat aimed for the head. Sneer steadily held out the weapon to Sai's chest.

"Sorry it had to come to this," Sneers said and began a series of sharp whistles. Sai lunged forward, hand raised to cover Sneers' mouth, but only succeeded in cutting off half of the signal. Sneer swung the bat again, forcing Sai to step back and remove his hand.

To his dismay, Sai heard an answering whistle rip through the forest. Too late, too late, Sai's mind rang out. Longshot took out flint stones to start a fire spark on an arrow wrapped with flammable grass.

"Longshot, please, we're talking about an entire town full of innocent Earth Kingdom citizens!" Sai's voice strained under the shout. "You can't sacrifice the town just for Fire Nation soldiers!"

Sneers grunted as he aimed for Sai's head again. Sai growled, pulling out his katana. He chopped the wooden bat in half and knocked Sneers into a daze with a sharp rap to the forehead. Sword in hand, Sai immediately sprinted for the barrels.

Too late, too late, Sai's mind rang out as he heard an arrow shoot faster than his feet could.

The last thing Sai remembered before running for the barrels was the heat, the deafening blast, and then a wall of solid freezing water slamming into him.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Colonel! We found this in one of the streams from the flood." The colonel turned around and froze when he saw a sword in a soldier's hands. He took the unsheathed katana by the handle with shaky hands.

"Colonel," the soldier started cautiously. "This belongs to the general. You don't think…"

"Tell the men to search the waters," the colonel rumbled. "Now. The general would have survived somehow, we must find him."

The soldier bowed at the command and left. The colonel shifted on his feet restlessly. Losing the general would deliver a huge blow to the soldiers and villagers alike, politically and morally. He had been the bridge between the Fire Nation colonizers and Earth Kingdom villagers. For both people's sake, the colonel lamented at the possibility of losing the young general.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sai!"

Sai doubled over, coughing up water and gasping. His throat and lungs felt inflamed by the intrusion of water. Someone handed him a blanket, which he accepted gratefully. His body was already racking with shivers from the cold.

"What happened?" He asked in a gravelly voice.

"The dam blew up and we found you floating in the water," Katara said, concern overflowing in her words as leaned over him. "Are you okay?"

Sai's breath rattled as he leaned against a tree trunk. "You guys saved me."

"Well, we don't make a habit of saving Fire Nation soldiers," Sokka joked weakly.

Aang sat down opposite of Sai. "I'm sorry about the town. We could have done more to stop Jet, but we didn't."

Sai huffed. "You've warned us about the flood. It was more than I could have asked you guys to do for us," Sai acknowledged. Sokka's shoulders straightened at the latter part of Sai's response.

"Oh yeah, are you someone important? Because back in town everyone listened to what you were saying," Sokka pointed out.

Katara lashed out at her older brother. "Sokka, now is not the time to interrogate him," she scolded.

Sai held out a hand in defense. "No, he has a right to wonder about it," he agreed.

"Then what are you?" Aang asked.

"I'm just a colonel, which isn't the highest rank, but on the field it can be," Sai lied. He felt his heart growing heavier with each word he said next. "We have a general, but he relays commands to colonels who are in charge of individual towns." The group of three relaxed at Sai's confession. They had been worried that it was something much more drastic. Jet had insisted that Sai was a high ranking officer, a general even, and that he had been a spy from the Fire Nation. Jet's words had made the siblings and Aang doubt Sai in the beginning, so they were now glad that they didn't let Jet deter them from preventing the flood.

"So, what are you going to do now?" The airbender wondered aloud. Sai sighed and began to wring the water out of his clothes.

"We received an order that we're supposed to conquer another town, but…," Sai paused. "I don't want to do that."

Sokka was bewildered. "Why not? I thought all Fire Nation soldiers liked to invade and destroy?"

"It can be pretty dull after a while," Sai responded sarcastically and sagged his shoulders, his eyes fluttering shut. "But it's not what I want to do. I can't find it in myself to just invade another town," he murmured. "I could leave the Fire Nation army now, my katana got swept away so the soldiers down the valley would conclude that I've drowned if they can't find my body in the next fifteen days." Sai's mouth tilted downwards when thinking about his sword; his katana had been given to him by his sword master and Sai had treasured it deeply. "There are other colonels who could replace me and no one would care."

A lie, Sai thought tiredly. A complete stinking lie, but these three didn't know that.

"Why don't you come with us?"

Everyone but the Avatar paused at that.

A disbelieving Sokka waved his hands around in exasperation. "Uh, Aang, did you just ask a Fire Nation soldier to join us?"

"Sokka, Katara! I think Sai's the one!" Aang exclaimed. "Avatar Roku told me that someone from the Fire Nation would help me in the ways of the Avatar in the physical world!"

Sai tilted his head and then straightened his spine in rapt attention. "You talked to Avatar Roku?" He demanded. It troubled Sai that someone in the spirit world had been talking about him.

"Of course he can talk to Avatar Roku, he's the Avatar," Sokka cried out.

"Avatar," Sai echoed.

Aang rubbed the back of his bald head and chuckled. "Oh right, I never told you huh? I'm the Avatar."

Sai shook head disbelievingly and then paused at another thought. "What happened to Jet and the Freedom Fighters?"

Sokka grinned. "Katara froze that jerk to a tree with her waterbending and the rest of his team scattered."

Sai smiled at the girl. "Very impressive," he complimented warmly. "So you're a waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe? You've come a long way."

Katara looked down to her hands. "I'm the only waterbender from the South," she contradicted softly. Sai winced at his lack of forethought. The Fire Nation navy had captured all of the Southern Water Tribe's waterbenders about twenty years ago, if his history was correct. Asking her if she was from the South or North probably reminded her of bad memories, maybe her deceased mother.

"A flying bison, a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, and judging by your nomadic clothes, an airbending Avatar," Sai listed as he counted off his fingers. "What pleasant surprises. Is it really alright for me to join?"

Traveling with the Avatar didn't sound bad at all.

"I'd like you to," Aang piped brightly.

Sokka groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes. "Yes. Let's have a former Fire Nation colonel join us," he said in mild aggression.

"If Aang wants you to come along, I don't see why not," Katara reassured him warmly.

It would beat returning to the Fire Nation capital anyway, he thought.

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.


	2. Water : The Great Divide :: Trivial

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water: The Great Divide :: Insignificant

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Well, if you don't like my firewood! Ugh!"

Sai sighed when he heard sticks of firewood clatter to the ground and Sokka's grunt. The Water Tribe siblings were at it again.

"Fine by me, if you're not gonna do your job!"

Sai wanted to groan when the tent flap fluttered and the wooden support hit the ground.

"Sai!"

"Sai!"

The Water Tribe siblings faced the oldest in the group, silently asking for a final verdict.

"Okay, I got the grub if you guys got the-"

Aang walked in holding fruits and nuts and paused at the scene.

"Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent? Sai, what's going on?"

The Fire Nation soldier pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, internally lamenting at the growing headache. Every time. Every time there was a bicker between the three of them, they would turn to him for an ultimate ruling. Sai guessed it was because he happened to be the oldest of the four, being two years older than Sokka.

Sai avoided their gazes and gestured at Aang. "Put those Avatar talking skills to the test," he suggested and started walking into the forest.

Aang panicked. "Wait, Sai! Where are you going?" Sai has always resolved conflicts between Katara and Sokka peacefully, Sai couldn't just leave him with this awkward situation!

"I'm going to find some more food for Appa, his stomach was growling earlier," Sai said over his shoulder. As he walked away, Sai heard the Water siblings' voices increasing in volume. Aang can handle it, he convinced himself.

In just a few minutes, Sai found a decently sized guavamelon large enough for a flying bison among a patch of shrubs. With a short knife he had borrowed from Sokka, Sai cut off the stem and slung the hefty fruit over his shoulder. When he returned, he was pleased to see that the siblings had calmed down and were finishing each other's responsibilities.

"Nice work," he said to Aang and tossed the guavamelon to Appa. Sai looked on with amusement when Aang performed another fair negotiation between the flying lemur and bison with the fruit.

"Thanks," Aang said cheerfully. "I think I could get the hang of all this Avatar peace and ending feuds stuff by watching how you talk to Sokka and Katara."

Sai lifted a brow. He hadn't been aware that the Avatar had been observing him. "Really?"

"Yeah! You're good at it, even though you always make these long faces while you're at it." Aang tried mimicking a grouchy face in front of the Fire Nation soldier. Sai wrinkled his nose.

"I do not look like that."

"No, you do! See?" Aang pulled another grumpy expression that made Sai break into a grin.

"Alright, stop," Sai said in mock consternation. "Let's eat, I'm starving."

Sai helped Sokka getting the campfire burning while Katara divided today's food into four portions.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Sokka sneaked a glance at Sai while they were in the middle of sparking a fire. The Fire Nation soldier's spontaneous addition to the group had left him and Katara initially wary. Aang seemed to have the least amount of doubts among the three of them, however Sokka couldn't say the same for himself and his sister. The Fire Nation had stripped his mother and father away from home for the majority of his childhood years and although Sokka knew that it was unjustified to pin the blame on one person, he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment towards the swordsman during their first few days of travel together. It was awkward enough that Sai was also now aware of the damages his nation has caused against the Water Tribe siblings and Aang since they had all exchanged their background stories a few days ago. For the most part, Sokka was simply grateful that nothing bad has happened so far because Sai was simply too respectful and courteous to all of them.

He really isn't a bad guy, Sokka contemplated as he watched Sai wordlessly relieve some of Katara's burden by carrying her sleeping bag. The Fire Nation soldier seemed to know when to keep quiet or when to speak when their conversations treaded upon delicate topics such as Sozin's comet or the siblings' parents. Sokka was more delighted that Sai was well versed in battle strategies and swordsmanship, knowledge that came with being a colonel. They would talk Katara's ear off about weapons, maneuvers and military ideas during the night or in the air on Appa's back. Sokka would just get excited because _finally_ there was someone he could share his ideas with. Katara didn't hold enough patience or interest on the topic and while Aang was smart, being a pacifist monk, the airbender was naturally averse to the discussion. In addition to being a person to bounce off ideas, Sai gave a lot of advice in a fatherly way that would remind Sokka of his own dad, Hakoda. Sometimes Sokka would curiously wonder if this was what it was like to have an older brother, an older role model who he could look up to.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sai! Aren't you going to see the Great Divide?"

The swordsman joined the other three at the edge of the canyon.

It's as big as the Grand Canyon, he noted and raised a brow at Katara's disgruntled expression.

"What, you're not impressed by the world's greatest canyon either?" Katara asked.

Sai carelessly shrugged. "The view is pretty unbelievable, but I think Sokka's right that we'll have a better look from above," he confessed.

"Hey! If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!"

A man with a goatee dressed in ivory and yellow robes barged into the scene.

"We're not looking for the canyon guide," Sai cut in dryly and waved for the rest of the group to climb onto Appa. "Let's go, guys."

Like the amiable person Aang was, the young Avatar asked, "You're crossing the canyon too?"

"My _tribe_ is," the man corrected. "The Fire Nation destroyed our home and now we have to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se."

Sai winced at the explanation while Katara gave him apologetic glances. It seemed like everywhere he went, everyone was fleeing from the Fire Nation and suffering because of his nation.

"You're a refugee," Katara said sympathetically.

"Huh, tell me something I don't know," the scout sniffed.

Oh, I could tell you lots, Sai thought sarcastically, but instead called out the water and airbender's names.

"Aang, Katara, let's go," Sai drawled. "He's just waiting for their canyon guide."

Sokka was already on Appa's saddle and Sai did not want to spend any more time with the irritating scout. To his dismay, a large group of people appeared in the distance.

"Is that your tribe?"

The man vehemently denied having any affiliations with the approaching tribe, the Zhangs, and even verbally taunted them as they came closer. Katara and Aang stood awkwardly behind as the scout engaged in a hostile exchange with leader of the Zhang tribe while Sai wanted to slap a hand over his eyes as he saw concern growing on the waterbender and airbender's face. Their worry only increased when the other tribe finally arrived, immediately sparking an argument between the two tribes over the canyon guide's help.

A girl with the upper half of her hair tied into a bun from the Gan Jin tribe caught Sai's eyes and giggled behind a sleeve with other girls her age. Sai fought against the urge to roll his eyes.

"Aang, Katara," he said sharply. "Let's leave them alone."

The two tribe leaders were hurling insults at each other and Sai didn't want to get dragged into the situation any further.

"But Sai, Aang could help them," Katara protested, causing the Fire nation ex-soldier to grimace. Katara's strong sense of compassion and inner urge to help knew no boundaries when it came to problems like these.

Katara laid a hand on the airbender's shoulder. "Aang, how about putting those peacemaking skills to another test?"

"I don't know, an argument over chores is one thing, but these people have been fighting for over a hundred years," Aang whispered dubiously. "Sai, how about you take this one?"

Sai shook his head. "No, the only person outside of these two tribes who has the right to intervene and end a feud that's lasted a hundred years is the Avatar. It's the same thing with the Fire Nation, Aang. You're the only one person who's qualified to resolve these kinds of things," he said reluctantly. If Aang was going to help these people, Sai might as well make sure that the Avatar doesn't get killed in the conflict.

The two hostile tribes continued their aggressive verbal slinging, pausing only when the earthbending canyon guide arrived, but their argument grew worse as they fought over who could cross the canyon first with the earthbender. Sai was ready to flop onto the saddle next to Sokka, defeated by the cacophony until Katara finally grabbed everyone's attention.

"Everyone listen up! This is the Avatar and if you give him a chance, I'm sure he can come up with a compromise that will satisfy everyone!"

Aang flinched when all eyes immediately focused on him.

What would Sai do, Aang thought frantically and his eyes darted around, searching for the Fire Nation soldier. To his dismay, he saw the swordsman give a 'go on' hand motion, clearly saying that Aang was on his own.

Without much confidence, he proposed, "Um, you could share the earthbender and cross the canyon together?"

Sai inwardly shook his head at the weak suggestion. Although the idea would have worked with any amicable group of people, these two tribes have clearly expressed deep hatred for each other and wouldn't even think of sharing the same air space. At some point, Aang couldn't bear the group's stubbornness and firmly shouted a new plan with more force behind his voice. Sai and Sokka breathed out relief, but both still groaned when they realized that they would have to travel with the two tribes into the landmark instead of flying over it with the flying bison.

When the compromise was finally settled, the canyon guide stepped forward with an announcement.

"Okay, here comes the bad news. No food allowed in the canyon, it attracts dangerous predators," he warned them. Immediately, many people protested against this piece of information and complained at how they were supposed to go hungry while traveling on foot.

"Aw, you babies could go one day without food," the earthbender remarked with a patronizing tone. "Would you rather be hungry or dead? Now we're leaving in ten minutes, all of your food better be in your gut, or in the garbage!"

"Dead. I'd rather be dead," Sokka lamented and Sai parroted something similar while Katara obediently went through their bags for leftovers from dinner last night. The Fire Nation soldier gazed longingly at his portion of the food before gulping it down, seeing as how everyone else was stuffing their faces frantically, trying to shove down as much substance as possible in ten minutes. Soon enough, everyone's stomachs were feeling tight as they began their walk down into the canyon. While rubbing his aching stomach, Sai noticed a shadow across Aang's face and nudged the airbender.

"What's wrong?"

Aang twisted his mouth downwards. "Was I too mean when I told them to travel together? They wouldn't put aside their differences for just one day and I don't like to yell, but it came out when they kept fighting."

"As Avatar, you'll probably face problems where a gentle suggestion won't work," Sai advised. "Sometimes, you've got to give a stern push for people to get the right idea. It's better to be rough and resolve conflicts nicely than to be too passive and let the situation boil to worse circumstances, though at the same time, just because you're helping, doesn't mean the people will appreciate the help. It all depends on the situation, I guess."

Aang visibly brightened. "I like that. It's kind of like how you can lead an ostrich-horse to a river, but can't force it to drink."

Sai nodded and smiled when Aang immediately cheered up at the end of their conversation. Even though it was a little disconcerting to know that the most powerful bender, the Avatar, was only twelve years old right now, Sai knew that Aang would do well in the future since the airbender was so open to learning new things.

"Hey, I've been thinking about it for a while now, but could you explain why you let me join your group in the first place?"

Aang glanced at Sai before answering nonchalantly, "Avatar Roku told me."

At Sai's questioning look, the airbender explained further. "All the Avatars in the past had mentors, people who taught them how to be the Avatar, but I had no one. I asked Roku and he told me that I'd meet two mentors. The first would be someone from the Fire Nation who was already skilled at making peace between people and so we met you."

"But I don't think I'm _that_ skilled; I didn't really make peace when Jet tried to flood that village," Sai countered.

"Yeah, you're right, but I was talking about how you kept good relations between the Earth kingdom villagers and your Fire Nation soldiers," Aang pointed out and Sai rubbed his neck self-consciously.

"Anyone could have done that," he said.

Aang nodded. "But you made the effort when others wouldn't bother to, plus you're nice and smart and Sokka likes you; he doesn't even like a lot of people."

Sai smiled at that, thanking the little monk, and turned to the earthbender strutting in front of them.

"How long have you been a canyon guide, sir?" He asked politely.

"Nearly fifteen years now, been bending for twice that, too," the old man replied jovially. "But the job's not all about earthbending, folks want information."

The canyon guide launched into a well versed account of the history of the Great Divide and how it was carved by angry earth spirits when local farmers didn't give proper sacrifices. Katara and Sokka exchanged nervous glances at the story, given that they had experienced firsthand at what an angry spirit was like. When a rumble and a downpour of rocks tumbled over them, Sai watched with mild interest as the canyon guide earthbent the natural disaster away safely with his arms.

"Sir, how is that you mainly use your arms when you earthbend?"

Katara and Aang perked at the discussion of bending as the former has yet to fully master her element and the latter knowing that he'd eventually have to learn the new element.

"Different styles, different elements, m'boy," the man explained. "All I know is what I had learned from my master years ago and he preferred using the legs as a foundation for the arms."

"So you don't use your legs that much?" Aang asked out of wonder. Although he understood how legs could be used as foundations, airbending consisted a lot of versatile movements of all limbs as air was not an element grounded by gravity. He couldn't imagine having to bend with his two feet stuck to the ground all the time. The airbender's shoulders sagged slightly when the canyon guide shook his head.

"M'fraid not," the earthbender admitted without shame. Upon reaching the bottom of the canyon, the canyon guide hefted a large boulder into the air to shatter one of the pathways along the sides.

"What'd you do that for?" Aang asked.

"These people are fleeing from the Fire Nation, aren't they? Got to make sure we won't be followed," he said in response to confused looks. As a result of destroying the rocky path, a large cloud of dust swept through the area. Echoes of rocks hitting against surfaces echoed in everyone's eardrums and the cacophony effectively concealed the clicking sound of an approaching beast.

"Watch out!" Sai yelled and pointed at the shadow behind the earthbender.

A gust of wind from Aang revealed an animal that appeared to be a mix of an ant, crocodile, and spider. Sai immediately compared the thing to a cockroach and held down the urge to bolt. The swordsman could never get used to this world's bizarre creatures and animal kingdom; everything seemed so wrong and twisted. He gulped when he caught sight of the forked tongue and scaly sharp-toothed jaw. On instinct, Sai reached for his belt, but his hand only grasped air at the top of his scabbard, causing Sai to mutter profanities. He hated travelling without his katana, it made him feel especially unprotected in situations like these.

"We gotta help him!" Sokka gripped his boomerang, preparing to throw it.

Sai gripped Sokka's arm, stopping the Water Tribe boy. "No! If you hit that thing, it'll drop the earthbender and he might get hurt."

"You're worried about that thing getting hurt?" Sokka asked hysterically.

"I'm talking about the earthbender, you dolt," Sai snapped. "Wait until I get closer."

Sai sprinted forward out of the beasts' reach until he was underneath the earthbender's hanging legs and yelled.

"Sokka! Now!"

There was a clang of metal and a disgusting screech, followed by the cries of the old canyon guide. Sai caught the elderly man and grunted when the weight threw him to the ground, forcing his side to take the brunt of the impact.

"Sir, all you alright?" Sai asked. He heard Sokka yelling for help behind him as the result of attracting the creature's attention.

"M'fine, my boy," the earthbender groaned in pain. "Many thanks."

Sai hefted the canyon guide to a safer location and watched with furrowed brows as Aang confronted the insect-animal hybrid.

"Get back," he shouted at the bystanders as Aang airbent a mini tornado with his staff. With a yell and muscles heaving, Aang whipped the beast into the side of the canyon, effectively forcing the thing to flee into the cracks between the rock structures.

Right after the fight, Aang turned to the earthbender and demanded, "What was that thing?"

"A canyon crawler," the man groaned. "And there's bound to more of 'em."

How delightful, Sai thought sardonically.

The encounter with the canyon crawler had shaken up the entire party. Katara treated the skin scrapes on the canyon guide and Sai.

"Luckily, you only have minor cuts," Katara told the earthbender.

"Glad to hear, dunno what would've happened if y'hadn't caught me there, m'boy!" The guide thumped Sai's back as an expression of gratitude. Katara was bandaging a badly scuffed knuckle on Sai's right hand when the leader of the Gan Jin tribe threw out an accusation.

"It's the Zhangs, they took food down here, even after the guide told them not to."

Sai narrowed his eyes at the immediate accusation. That leader's response had been too quick that it made Sai suspect the Gan Jin tribe itself. As expected, the Zhangs instantaneously responded with rebuttals and protests. When Sokka and Aang stepped forward in order to hopefully placate the two tribes, Sai turned to the earthbender.

"Sir, why would a canyon crawler attack us?"

The elderly man made a deep frown and rubbed his chin in contemplation, saying, "Crawlers have poor eyesight, but their noses catch a whiff of anything th't smells like food. They don't go lookin' for trouble unless it's worth it to them, which was why everyone was s'pposed to eat all their grub in the beginning of the day."

Sai growled. "Katara, get everyone gathered. We have a problem."

It took a few minutes for the people to quiet down after their brief squabble.

"Canyon crawlers only move when they smell food," Sai declared and waited for moment of silence to allow the words to sink into the small crowd. "Which means that someone, or even several people here smuggled in food."

"We should have known better than to travel with the Zhangs," the Gan Jin chief cried out and made a move to pull out his sword. Katara and Sokka tensed while Aang raised his staff in reluctant caution. They wanted to intervene, but didn't know how without getting themselves or other people hurt since the man had a sword. For Sai, however, the reach was only an arm's length. With skill that demonstrated the swordsman's ease with blades, he stretched out and plucked the sword out of the scabbard before its owner could. Without hesitation in movements, Sai whipped around and brought the blade down on the Zhang's leader's jagged sword that had been pulled out just seconds ago with a deafening clang. The jagged blade clattered to the ground and no one moved. Taking his time, Sai bent down to pick up the other sword and flicked the blade to get rid of the dirt.

"Let's settle this without violence, shall we?" He suggested calmly. He held the two tribe leaders' swords hostage while levelling both chiefs with heavy stares.

"I say that we have two choices: we search each person's bag to double check for food in front of everyone or spend another ten minutes eating at separate locations," Sai suggested with a steel tone. The crowd erupted into mutters, but interestingly enough, no one vehemently objected. After some discussion, Sai returned the chiefs' swords and the Gan Jins and Zhangs split up out of each other's sights, led by Katara and Sokka respectively. The two groups would spend the next couple of minutes digging through their bags and eating remaining edible substances. The canyon guide, Aang, and Sai stayed at the meeting point. About five minutes into waiting for the tribes' returns, Aang's stomach began growling and Sai could feel his own beginning to ache of hunger, but the swordsman wasn't too bothered with the hunger pangs. He knew that the feeling of hunger would disappear for another four hours or so and he could at least hold off for another twelve hours. Hopefully, they'd cross the canyon by then.

"You had that long face again," Aang said as they sat against a boulder underneath some shade.

Sai scowled without heat. "Watch it, public Avatar skills isn't the only thing you'll be learning from me. You'll start making faces like me, too."

The earthbender chuckled at the two youngsters' banter.

* * *

oOo

* * *

One thing that irritated Sai was the lack of technology in this universe. More specifically, technology that improved land travel. The Fire Nation had the latest machines that cut down time spent for traveling, but they haven't made any major scientific breakthroughs since Sai had left the capital.

War Minister Qin couldn't put a bolt and nut together even if the pig-headed old man had the mechanical plans in front of him, Sai remarked with a sort of derisive humor.

Bicycles, cars, trains, planes, Sai thought wistfully as the group continued their brisk but comfortable pace. They had quickened their footsteps ever since the incident with the canyon crawler since no one wanted to stay inside this beast-infested gorge. Sai's fingers twitched at the thought of the grotesque image of a canyon crawler with the long forked tongue. He's only associated the act of murder to cockroaches, but those ugly creatures were a close second. Distracted by disturbing thoughts of other animal anomalies, a girl from the Gan Jin slowly gravitated towards the swordsman's side. She had giggled at him earlier in the day when the two tribes were arguing over the canyon guide.

Sai hoped that she wouldn't come any closer, but she did.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Katara wrangled with her emotions so that it wouldn't show on her face, but a crease still managed to squeeze its way into her brow. It was just like Aang and those girls back in Kyoshi Island. It wasn't like she had any romantic feelings towards Sai, but she was simply miffed at how some girls had the gall to approach guys as if their heads were only stuffed with girly fantasies. Of course, Katara herself had some wishful daydreams, but she didn't act on them because there was a time and place for those kinds of things. Traveling in a dangerous canyon wasn't the time, nor place to be making googly eyes at people.

"So," the girl began in a sugary voice. "Traveling with the Avatar, huh?"

"Yes," Sai said indifferently after looking at the girl from the corner of his eye. Internally, Katara performed a silent cheer. Sai's response to the admirers was a stark contrast to Aang's. She had to hide her smile when another flirtatious girl failed to catch Sai's attention. This time, a girl from the Zhang tribe tried body contact by laying a seemingly innocent hand on the soldier's upper arm. Almost as though they were polar opposites of a magnet, Sai's body shifted, going out of her reach. To Katara, the sight was much more amusing to watch compared to when Aang had gone along with his fangirls' whims. Several bold girls from both tribes attempted advancements on Sai, but every one of them were rebuffed through short, passive responses and subtle body signals that clearly conveyed the little to none interest the swordsman had for all of them.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Go ask the him if he's traveling to somewhere in particular."

With her friend's nudging, Miwah went forth to where the tall swordsman was walking. Upon closer look, she curiously noticed how his sword scabbard was missing an actual blade and hid a smirk behind a long green sleeve when a Zhang girl walked away with a sulky expression. However as soon as she smirked, the corners of her mouth lowered when she noticed how pretty that girl had been. Although Miwah despised the Zhangs like the rest of her tribe, she knew that her beauty didn't match the other girl's. Self-confidence quickly dropping like a rock, Miwah trudged forward with more hesitation than before.

"Um, excuse me?"

The man sent the girl a sidelong look with his amber eyes and raised a brow as though to acknowledge her presence. Miwah fleetingly admired his sharp features and eyes before conjuring the courage to say something interesting to catch his attention. Maybe something along the lines of how heroic he was earlier when he saved the canyon guide, or about the Avatar, or something about herself.

Yes, preferably something that would sound intelligent so that he'd find her intriguing in a good way.

"Do you like rocks?" Miwah blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth in mortification and frantically watched the handsome swordsman's reaction.

To her immense relief, he actually _laughed._

"I don't have any strong feelings towards them, but I think I've seen enough lately," he responded in an airy tone. Miwah fought the urge to dance because she made him _smile._ She made a stranger, an attractive one at that, smile which she counted as a personal victory. To her immense delight, he even introduced himself.

"Sai, your name?"

"Miwah," she squeaked in response.

"Miwah," he repeated. "Pleased to meet you."

Oh Lady Tienhai, his voice was pleasant to listen to.

"Well, Miwah, could I ask you for a favor?"

Looking up at his striking golden eyes and jaw, Miwah was sure that within reason, of course, she would've done anything for him at that moment.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"You were _so_ brave saving our canyon guide."

"I was wondering if you-"

"My parents would love to meet with you, they're right over there!"

"How old are you? Do you have a betrothed yet?"

The desire to bang his head against a nearby boulder was slowly creeping on Sai. It was hard enough to tamper down his frustration in having to walk the entire canyon because two tribes couldn't settle their differences for two days, but the girls were making the situation more aggravating. Why couldn't those girls be more like Katara? Serious, practical. It wasn't that Sai didn't like girls and he wasn't unfamiliar with the opposite sex, however he liked sensible ones who knew the right time and place to flirt, not ones who tittered amongst themselves while crossing a dangerous gorge filled with unknown creatures. He was sure that they were nice if he actually spent a few minutes talking to them, funny or maybe even special. At the same time, Sai admired how the girls had enough courage to act upon whatever flimsy feelings they carried in their hearts. He had never been so forward in his past life and he certainly couldn't be so direct with his feelings in this life, especially to where he stood in political and social circles back at the capital. Travelling with the Avatar was only delaying the inevitable of what was waiting for him in the future.

When another girl from the Gan Jin tribe stepped closer in his direction, Sai mentally prayed for infinite patience, but to his great surprise, she was nothing like the previous ones.

"Do you like rocks?"

The question was a stark contrast to all the other ones he had received that he couldn't help but let out a couple of laughs. After exchanging names, he tried asking her for her service.

"Could I ask you to stay by my side for several minutes? I'm getting a little fearful of other advances and you're the most charming one I've met so far," he requested. Sai noted the visible blush on the girl's cheeks with faint amusement as she struggled to come up with an answer.

"I-uh, would love to! I mean, if it helps to have me even though I have a friend who could probably do better, but-"

"Miwah, you're fine," he cut in while he laughed into his hand. The Gan Jin girl immediately clamped her mouth shut and continued walking next to him.

To start a conversation, Sai joked, "So should I ask why you wanted to know if I like rocks?"

Miwah began to stammer more, but her speech stutter didn't faze Sai the slightest. Her reactions and responses in itself were fun to listen to and helped pass time. Soon enough, the few minutes turned into a couple of hours, which led to the day darkening into night. Miwah had to leave to spend the night with her tribe, but it wasn't until Sai said that they could talk the next day when she obligingly departed.

The faster morning came, the faster they could get out of this dirt hole, Sai thought as he waved back to Miwah, unaware that a certain Water tribe girl was sending him concerned looks.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sokka!"

"Katara!"

"Aang!"

"SAI?"

Sai threw his hands into the air. "What?!"

"Decide who's right!"

"No," Sai snapped.

"Sai, come one," they complained.

Sai slapped a hand over his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that if you're going to get information, get it from more than one source! Conflicts like this happen if you don't communicate from _both_ sides," he groaned. The Water siblings were currently arguing over which tribe had more justification in their rivalry. Sai personally couldn't care less because they were already at the top of the canyon, with the canyon guide's earthbending, and were currently helping people get off of Appa's back. Poor Aang had gotten dragged into the siblings' bicker when they asked for his input.

"Sai, shouldn't we at least help these two tribes settle their differences? They're going to be heading to the same direction, so they might as well make up." Katara waved an arm to where the two tribes were sitting at opposite ends, taking a break in face of the journey they had to Ba Sing Se. Aang wavered on the spot, torn between the difficulty of the situation and the compulsion to remedy it, and glanced hopefully at Sai.

"No, Avatar's job," the swordsman said monotonously. Aang's shoulders slumped in response.

Sai never thought he'd enjoy seeing the Avatar lie for the sake of keeping peace. After seeing the two tribes walk off together in newfound friendship, Sai slung an arm around the airbender's shoulders.

"Hey, cheer up. You lied as naturally as a badgerfrog holding a conversation. You're a budding politician," he complimented. Katara shot him a frown to convey her displeasure at the comment.

Aang grimaced. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yep." Sai patted the Avatar's shoulder as though to dust off the airbender's remaining guilt for lying.

"Let's eat."

Aang perked up at the mention of eating, previous compunctions already forgotten.

For a second, Sai wished that all would be as easy as this for the Avatar. He glanced back at the Great Divide, comparing it to the Grand Canyon one last time.

Insignificant, he thought sourly, and he wasn't talking about this world's largest canyon.

"Sai!"

Sai turned around and frowned when he saw Miwah running towards him. He jumped down from Appa and nearly flinched when she flung her arms around him without caring about the audience before them. Sokka, Katara, and Aang gaped at the scene.

"Woah, Miwah, your tribe's going to leave without you if you don't hurry back," he said uneasily as he tried taking her arms off his waist.

"I like you!"

The exclamation struck Sai like a lightning bolt and he heard gasps behind him. Looking at Miwah, he could tell that she wasn't joking. Sai tried reasoning with her.

"Miwah, we talked for one day," he said weakly, but she shook her head furiously.

"Do you know how hard it is to even find someone you like of your own free will? My father is planning to marry me off once we reach Ba Sing Se, but I wanted to like someone before being forced into marrying and I met you. I like you, Sai," she proclaimed and earnestly gazed into Sai's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miwah, I'm very flattered, but I saw you like a younger sister," Sai admitted sheepishly and reached out to gently wipe the tears that leaked at the corners of Miwah's eyes, but she backed away before he could touch her.

"I-it's fine," she sniffled. "I just wanted to let you know, but thank you for giving me a serious answer."

With a hand, she motioned for Sai to come closer to her height. Thinking she was going to whisper something out of earshot of the bystanders, Sai bent down with his ear facing her. But instead of words, he felt something soft press against his cheekbone. Startled, Sai straightened, lifting a hand at the spot where Miwah had kissed him.

"Y-you better remember me!" She shouted with her voice wavering and without giving Sai a chance to say anything, Miwah quickly dashed off to the receding back of the traveling group.

Sai turned back to his own party and no one spoke for several seconds. Sokka opened his mouth, but Sai glared at him.

"We don't speak of this," the swordsman muttered and climbed back on the flying bison.

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: Insignificant plot indeed. A lot of cuts of different scenes, I really couldn't do much haha except insert Miwah for fun. I just might skip episodes that don't contribute to this story. Future chapters will definitely be more in depth! Hope you guys enjoyed reading!


	3. Water : The Storm :: Past

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water: The Storm :: Past

* * *

oOo

* * *

 _We need you, Aang, we need you._

 _We need you, Aang, we need you._

 _We need you, Aang, we need you._

 _ **We need you, Aang, we need you.**_

 _ **WE NEED YOU, AANG-**_

"AAHHH-"

Aang shot up from the ground. In fright, Momo the flying lemur leaped across the surrounding sleepers.

"Oof!" Katara bent over.

Sokka sprung upright, clutching his blade and boomerang, and asked in a sleepy voice,"Huh, whas goin' on? Did we get captured again?"

Sai cracked his neck from the sudden wake up call.

"What's happening?" The soldier yawned.

"N-nothing, it was just a bad dream, you guys can go back to sleep," the airbender stammered. Sokka immediately flopped back into his sleeping back and turned over, emitting snores instantly. Katara and Sai exchanged worried glances.

"Are you sure you're okay, Aang?" Katara asked gently.

"You seem to be having a lot of nightmares the past couple of nights," Sai added when the monk didn't reply to Katara's question.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Aang muttered and curled up on the ground, unwilling to speak any further on the topic. At the unresponsive reaction, Katara sent another concerned look at Sai, silently wondering what they should do. Sai shook his head, mouthing 'later', and pulled his blanket over his head. Katara soon followed suit and sleep overtook the group once more.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sai, you're actually believing the old lady?"

"She's worked at sea for more years than I've lived and would know better than us. I don't see why not."

Sokka made face because when Sai put it that way, it was hard to argue against that logic. But still, the sky was perfectly clear and not a cloud was in sight. The weather was amazing. How was he supposed to believe that a huge storm was coming tonight?

"We'll lose a day of travel," Sokka pointed out.

"It won't harm us," Aang commented and Katara nodded. "Besides, it's better safe than sorry, so it won't hurt to stay in town for the night."

Sokka's shoulders slumped at the majority ruling, but didn't try to argue. Sai thanked the elderly woman at the dock for her insight.

He asked the experienced sea navigator, "Thank you, and sorry to take more of your time, but when do you think the storm will hit and how long?"

"Hmm, I'd say it'll start brewing in the late afternoon and last through the night. In the morning, the storm will most likely clear up like all other storms, but it's not going to be pretty," she predicted. "What are you kids going to do then?"

"We need to stop by the market and find some place to stay," Sai answered, shooting a sidelong glance at the empty food bag in Katara's hands. "And a job to earn more money."

"I know a place that needs some muscle to move stuff in the town today, they'll pay for the labor, I can take you there," the old woman exclaimed and everyone brightened at that. Sai thanked her profusely a second time for her help to which she dismissed with a scratchy laugh.

"It's nothing, boy, you're handsome enough to be worth the trouble," the old lady cackled. Sai winced when bony, but sturdy, fingers pulled on his cheek. The Water Tribe siblings and Aang stifled giggles at the display. They rarely saw Sai being dragged around by people, it was usually the other way around, but here they were with this elderly woman pulling Sai along.

"We'll come back after we're done working," Aang called out to his bison.

They were just about to leave the dock when a gruff voice yelled in their way.

"Not skipping out today, are ya?" An equally elderly man stepped up, tanned skin and lean muscles from years of fishing showing through an old cutoff shirt.

"No," the woman huffed in response. "But there's a storm coming, so we shouldn't head out."

"Um, are you two related?" Sokka questioned.

"I'm his wife."

"She's my fish hauler."

Sai and everyone but the older couple blinked in confusion at the different answers. The lady growled in irritation.

"Whatever, I'm not going. There's a storm coming, a bad one, and I'm not risking it," she insisted.

The husband barked in course laughter, "Bah, it's a nice day, no clouds, no wind, no nothin'!"

"My joints are telling me, the fish can wait."

"It's your joins against my brain."

"Well, your brain better find someone else to haul fish because I ain't comin'," she sneered and crossed her arms. The old man wrinkled his nose, but stubbornly looked around for a new face to hire.

"You look strong, want t' work fer a day at sea?" He singled out Sai.

"Uh, no thank you sir, I'd rather be safe than sorry," the swordsman responded apologetically.

The fisherman waved a hand at the sky impatiently. "Don't believe what that woman spouts, she doesn't know what she's talkin' about."

Sai shook his head without any more words. The weathered man sagged his shoulders, but pointed at Sokka, trying his luck once more.

"What about you? You don't look as strong as yer friend, but you'll do."

"Um." Sokka wavered indecisively.

"I'll double the pay," the man added.

Sokka smiled. "I'll go-"

"No," Sai firmly said. "Sokka, we can work in town, I'm not taking chances."

"Yeah, I don't think it's such a good idea," Aang interjected. "Look, grey clouds."

Everyone craned their necks upward. Sure enough, the weather was already changing and the group could outline several grey clouds approaching in the distance across the blue sky.

"Could you show us the way for the job you mentioned?" Sai asked the older woman.

"Follow me kids, and you," she growled at the fisherman. "You should listen to the boy with tattoos, he has sense and can see," the woman beseeched to her husband as they began walking away.

"Boy with tattoos?" The fisherman examined Aang.

"Keep walking," Sai muttered.

"Airbender tattoos," he observed. "Well, I'll be a hogmonkey's uncle! Yer the Avatar, ain't ya?"

The group paused at that and Sai raised his brows. The Air Nomads have been nonexistent for a hundred years, barely anyone could recognize a monk, much less know their culture such as the airbending tattoos. Information on the Air Nomads was rare and scarce as much of it had been burned when Fire Lord Sozin had ordered the destruction of the temples.

Sokka, Katara, and Aang smiled at the recognition.

The man scowled, "What're you smilin' about?"

The unexpected hostile question instantly wiped the three smiles of the teenagers' faces.

"The Avatar disappeared fer a hundred years, he turned his back on his people, the world," he claimed.

"Don't yell at him like that," Katara said angrily. "Aang is the bravest person I know, he has done nothing, but help people and save-"

"Katara," Sai interrupted smoothly. "I think we should go."

To make his point, Sai laid a hand on Aang's shoulder, attempting to steer the monk away from the fisherman. The airbender flinched at the contact and tried tug away from Sai's hand, but the swordsman's grip stayed unyielding .

"We're leaving," Sai said and this time, it was an order.

The fisherman snorted loudly when the group turned away.

"And you! What land did you come from? You don't look like these Water siblings or the monk, and yer not wearing any clothes th'come from the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka and Katara shifted uneasily while Sai paused at the old man's sharp observations.

"Pale skin, dark hair, bright colored eyes, even the fabric of yer clothes don't come from these parts," the fisherman growled when he reached a conclusion. He stalked up to the swordsman in barely contained displeasure.

He hissed, "Yer _Fire Nation_ , aren't ya?"

The obvious dislike for the Fire Nation was obvious in the man's aggressive stance. Sai pushed away the finger that hovered between his eyes and held stable eye contact with the old man.

" _Was_ Fire Nation," he firmly corrected.

The fisherman sneered. "You've got evil in your blood, boy, you don't just leave yer home. Yer just as bad as the Avatar, you don't belong here."

"You're in no position to make judgements about others and you hardly know my position, much less the Avatar's," Sai coldly responded. "You're a bitter old man and shame on you for venting your decades worth of frustration on a twelve year old child."

"We're leaving," Sai repeated while shooting a narrow glare at the fisherman. Slightly slack-jawed, the group finally departed from the wharf and silently followed the woman.

After a second of fuming quietly, Sai murmured to their guide, "I'm sorry I said that to your husband, it was out of line."

She swiped a hand as if to show how little she cared about the apology. "Hah, he had that coming for a long time, I didn't mind it at all."

"Are you kidding? That was great!" Sokka exclaimed. Sai wryly smiled at the boy and glanced down at Aang next to him. The airbender didn't seem to be in such a good mood. Sai made a note to himself to address that later, but kept an eye out for the boy. Aang had looked like he was going to bolt on his glider earlier when the fisherman had barked the insensitive remarks. It wouldn't do for Aang to mysteriously disappear while they were working. The old man's words must have bothered Aang greatly.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Don't worry about that fisherman, we can talk about it later," Sai assured Aang as they unloaded a wooden cart together off a wagon. Aang flashed a hint of a tentative smile as they walked into a storage room. There were only a few more crates left and then their short job was done.

"Nice work, kids," the store owner said. "Here's the pay, as promised."

Their short term employer paid Katara fifteen bronze pieces, which she placed in their money pouch.

"So, what now?" Sokka asked to no one in particular.

"Buy some food for the day, get Appa, and find shelter?" Sai suggested. Everyone nodded at that, but as they were walking along the wharf, water began to pour down from the sky.

"Scratch that, let's get Appa and then find shelter," the Sai amended.

Sokka panicked. "What about food?"

"I saw a cave just behind the town, we can rest there," Katara shouted over the howling winds as they ran to the dock where Appa was resting. Lightning began flashing above their heads when they climbed onto the bison's back.

"Yip, yip," Aang yelled. Appa strained against the strong gales upon takeoff, but they were able to safely land in front of the cave located at the side of a short mountain. Even though the crew had only been outside for less than five minutes, they were already soaking wet. Katara and Sai immediately set out to find wood and kindling to start a fire while Sokka started unloading their sleeping bags off of Appa's saddle. Aang knew he should be helping them preparing for a night in the cave, but he retreated into a dry corner of the cave. He felt guilty enough for not focusing during their job in the wharf earlier today. The guilt multiplied exponentially when the words of the fisherman from before returned and echoed in Aang's mind.

 _The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years. Turned your back on your people._

He had left his people when they needed him most and abandoned the world when it needed the Avatar. None of his friends knew about he had done a hundred years ago and if they did, Aang was afraid that they would be disappointed in him. It hurt more that Katara had defended him without knowing about his past mistakes; the fisherman had been right all along. He didn't deserve the role of the Avatar, he had already failed a lot of people.

"Aang," Katara called out gently. "You should dry up next to the fire."

After a second of hesitation, the airbender joined the rest of the group circling a small burning fire pit. Appa surrounded them while Momo flew into Aang's arms. Outside the cave, the storm grew more fierce and the rain fell heavily. They watched the storm for several seconds, flinching every time thunder boomed.

"So, Sokka, you still wanted to work out at sea?" Sai jokingly asked.

Sokka defended himself. "He said he was going to pay _double_!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't have been fun to work with someone like that, I mean, how could he say those horrible things about Aang?"

Aang gathered himself into a little ball as if to become smaller and hide. He wondered if he should say it.

"You seemed really bothered by what that old man said," Sai pointed out lightly.

"Yeah, is something wrong? You weren't yourself for the entire day," Sokka added.

Aang stayed quiet for a moment before deciding that it was best to let out everything. The recent nightmares weren't a coincidence and he knew that holding in his feelings wouldn't be good for anyone. Besides, it wasn't like he could hide away for the matter anymore. Everyone could tell that something was wrong.

"The fisherman was right about me," he said in a small voice. Aang cast his eyes downwards and into the fire, afraid to see everyone's expressions.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, crinkling her brow.

"It's kind of a long story," Aang spoke reluctantly. Everyone jumped at a particularly loud crash of thunder.

Sai glanced at the pouring rain and smiled encouragingly at Aang. "I think we have some time."

And so Aang told them everything. He told them about how he had found out being the next Avatar, the pressure and loneliness of his new title, and how his life wasn't normal anymore.

"The elders even tried to send me to the Eastern Air Temple, but how could they do that to me just because I was the Avatar? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved," Aang lamented loudly. The memory of the elders deciding to separate him and Gyatso briefly flashed across Aang's mind. In swift anger, his airbending tattoos glowed and air dispelled around him, stoked the small fire into a larger flame. Momo chittered, leaping away from the monk and behind Sai's back while the rest raised an arm against the flying red sparks.

"Woah, hot cinders," Katara said nervously.

"I'm sorry, I got so mad," Aang apologized.

"You have a right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that," Katara countered.

"Well, that's not exactly what happened." Aang hung his head. Thinking about his next words filled the monk with shame.

"I never saw Gyatso again," he confessed. "And there was a storm, just as bad as this one, and next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms."

"You ran away," Katara concluded quietly. Sai let out a long breathe. It was so different learning about Aang's past in a cartoon. Hearing the story from the child himself was so much more painful. Sai bit the inside of his cheek at the thought of Aang burdening himself with these feelings every since he had woken up in the South Pole.

"And then I found out that Fire Nation attacked my temple."

Sai looked away at that and the corner of Sai's mouth turned downward. If he had been born a hundred years earlier, could he have changed the nomads' fates? Sai sadly reflected upon the Fire Nation's bloodstained history . His nation was so great in some ways and so horrible in others; he could hardly imagine the world forgiving them for their crimes.

"My people needed me and I wasn't there to help, the world needed me and I wasn't there to help." Aang threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Aang, you're being too hard on yourself, you don't know what would have happened if you stayed in the air temple," Katara argued.

Aang balled his fists. "You don't know that."

"Katara's right, you might have not even made it if things didn't turn out this way," Sai chimed in.

Sokka cracked a grin. "Yeah, then we wouldn't have found you in the iceberg."

"The world needs you now, you give people hope," Katara said confidently. Aang looked up and smiled when he saw everyone smiling back at him.

Sai held up a hand. "Wait, can we step back for a second? They found you in an actual iceberg?"

"Yep,a big circular piece of ice that my sister summoned out of the ocean with all that water stuff and Aang just slid right out of there," Sokka explained flippantly, gesturing wildly. Everyone giggled at Sokka's exaggerated motions until they heard another person entering the cave.

"Help! Please help! My husband hasn't come back from the storm!"

"It's the lady from before," Sai said and got up to help her inside the cave.

"Please help, he went out on his boat and should have come back by now, but he's missing!" She exclaimed. "This storm has become a typhoon!"

Aang furrowed his brow in thought before determinedly declaring, "I'll go to find your husband."

"I'm coming with you," Katara said, equally insistent.

"I'll go," Sai added.

"I'm staying," the woman harrumphed.

"Same," Sokka peeped as he took another look at the storm outside.

Aang, Katara, and Sai climbed onto Appa and took off for the sea. Katara and Sai gripped the saddle while Aang took the reins and all three squinted against the rain, searching for a lost boat with one passenger.

"There!" Katara yelled and pointed at down below. As they descended, Sai took the reins as Aang jumped down from a safe height and staggered down the deck of the small ship. He nearly lost his footing as the water rocked the ship back and forth. The old man had already a rope tied securely around his waist to an empty barrel as an emergency procedure. Aang expertly used air to slice the end of the rope off of the barrel and flew back onto Appa. Sai flicked the reins and Appa skillfully maneuvered through the air to pull the old man onto its saddle.

Returning the reins to Aang, Sai took a look around and froze when he saw an incoming wave behind them. It was huge, more than fifty feet high, and it was moving too fast for them to outfly.

"Aang-"

Water flooded over Appa's groan and everyone's screams. A cold water wall crashed into them and the overwhelming force of the wave dragged them beneath the surface. Sai choked as the water swirled around him and gripped onto the edge of the saddle as as lifeline.

Not like this, I don't want to die like this.

When he nearly lost conscious, he felt the water shift and next thing he knew, they were surrounded with air instead. Keeping his eyes shut, he felt Appa bursting through the water surface and now they were flying through the air. Coughing for air, Sai wiped his face and checked if everyone was still alive. Katara was next to him and Aang was at the front. The old man was wheezing at the other end of the saddle, but he'll live. Seeing the lack of wind and rain, Sai realized that they were in the eye of the storm. Looking down at the ocean, Sai saw another ship, but this one was made out of metal and had a smoke trailing behind it.

The fisherman croaked, "What kinda ship is that?"

"Fire Nation," Sai murmured. More importantly, it was the Fire Nation's prince's ship. Sai spotted several people standing on the deck, two figures which stood out particularly to the swordsman: a scarred faced teenager and an elderly man with a large belly. Before Sai could get a closer look however, Appa flew away quickly and they returned to the cave. The husband and wife's reunion was touching to see, but Sai didn't particularly care for the old man's happiness.

"You should listen to your wife more," he told the fisherman, but shook hands regardless. After the couple full-heartedly thanked Aang for his help and the man apologized for his words, the two left the cave. Within minutes of returning, the storm had dissipated and there was no more wind or rain.

They were finished with packing when Aang spoke up.

"Katara, I think you're right, I'm done dwelling on the past, I can't keep guessing what would have happened if I hadn't ran away. I'm here now, and I'm going to make the most of it," Aang reasoned brightly.

"I don't think you'll have anymore of those nightmares," Katara noted happily.

Sokka patted Aang's shoulder. "Yeah, waking up in the middle of the night isn't fun."

The Water siblings were out of earshot when Sai stopped Aang from jumping on Appa's head.

"I'm sorry," Sai spoke in a gravelly voice. Aang blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry about when the Fire Nation took away your people." Sai pulled out his katana's sheath from his belt. He ran a thumb over the Fire Nation insignia.

Sai looked at Aang and took a shaky breath. "It's not my place to say it, but, I'm sorry that it happened."

"It's okay, it's not your fault and I'm happy that you're with us," Aang responded with a small voice. They smiled at each other. Aang's maturity and kindness continued to amaze Sai everyday.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Uncle, when the Avatar flew past us during the storm, did you see…?"

The former general's hand tightened around his tea cup.

"No, I do not think it could have been him, the colonel had declared him gone after searching for him with nothing to be found," Iroh said grimly, eyes staring into his tea.

Zuko looked away. It would be highly unexpected for him to travel with the Avatar too, so Prince Zuko decided to drop the subject. Uncle Iroh had yet to completely accept the person's disappearance, so it was difficult for him to talk about it.

* * *

oOo

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: Meh, I'm not satisfied with this. I'm not qualified to be writing this type of thing, but I wanted to update.

Guys, rewatching this episode made me realize (again) how awesome Katara is (I already know she's awesome, but I was reminded of it). Seriously, she's so good at comforting people, she's amazing.


	4. Water : The Blue Spirit :: Sick

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water: The Blue Spirit :: Sick

* * *

oOo

* * *

"How's Sai doing?"

Katara soaked a piece of cloth with the last of their water and placed it on Sai's forehead. Their Fire Nation swordsman was currently bundled in his coaks and lying down against Appa's warm fur. He was shivering and muttering unintelligible words while flickering in and out of consciousness, which deeply concerned Katara. She hoped he wasn't suffering from hallucinations, too. After that huge storm, he really shouldn't have insisted on drying everyone else first before taking care himself last. It was because of Sai's care that the rest haven't gotten sick, yet.

"I'm getting more worried about him, I think he might be getting worse," she responded. She grimaced when her throat began to dry up and grow raspy. Her own condition had taken a turn south when she woke up with a sore throat and a slight headache this morning.

Sokka returned with more wood and heard Katara's worry. "Why, what's wrong with him now?"

Katara jabbed a thumb at their oldest member of the group. The Water siblings and Aang looked curiously when Sai's eyes briefly fluttered open. It was clear that he was in a daze and unfocused.

Toasting an imaginary drink to the ceiling, Sai muttered, "Bloody Mary shots full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails." After finishing that strange phrase, the swordsman let out a short chuckle before retreating into unconsciousness again. Katara shook her head. He might have begun hallucinating already.

Aang raised a brow. "Yeah, he sounds really sick."

"Pff," Sokka snickered.

"Sokka, it's not funny, Sai is really sick," Katara scolded her brother.

Sokka held up his hands in defense. "Hey, it's not everyday that we get hear Sai say funny stuff like that."

"Anyway, I found a map." Aang held out a scroll and spread it on the ground. Sokka went over to examine it.

Sokka pointed at a highlighted spot. "It says that there's a herbalist at the top of that mountain."

"We could get a cure from the herbalist for Sai, I don't think he'll get any better if he just rests, he needs medicine," Aang observed as they all watched Sai succumb to coughing fit.

"And I think you should get some medicine, too," Aang added to Katara.

"What? I'm fine, I-"

Sokka and Aang backed away when Katara joined Sai's coughing spree.

"See? That's exactly how Sai was yesterday," Aang pointed out. "If you don't get better either, you'll start talking nonsense like Sai."

"It was over nine thousand," Sai sighed under his covers.

"I'm going to find some medicine," Aang said, even more determination ringing in his voice, and grabbed his glider.

"I'll stay here and look after Katara and Sai," Sokka decided. He got out his sister's sleeping bag, just in case if she started shivering. Lightning flashed above them, forcing Aang to reconsider his travel options. Leaving his glider behind, he airbended his way down the ruins and up the mountain.

* * *

oOo

* * *

It was cold. And hot. Sai sneezed.

Sai hated getting sick. Coughing hurt. He hated feeling weak and nauseous. He hated how his body racked with shivers and sweated at the same time, and above all, Sai hated having to rely on others when he was like this. Despite all this, he knew that it was best for him to simply lay down and rest in order to recover quickly. Even though he wished that he didn't have to be so pathetic, at times like these, he welcomed the dizziness and tiredness to take him away so that he could sleep.

He remembered that Sokka and Katara were supposed to be sick instead at this time. It was a good thing he had taken care of them first before himself. Sai's mind floated, no longer functioning on concrete matters, but now just drifting to whatever thoughts that spontaneously sprouted from the unconscious. Right now was the plotline for the Blue Spirit. Blue Spirit.

Red Spirit. Sai missed his old friend Hong Shen back in the Fire Nation. He wondered if the fire bender and his son was doing well. Sai wished that he had kept in touch with the man. Shen had been a true friend when Sai had doubted many of the people that had surrounded him back in the capital. He missed a lot of people, now that he thought of it. His mother, a few people at the capital, and…

Nevermind, he didn't miss that many people.

He did miss his family from a long time ago though. Thinking about them now only made his past life seem like a dream. So unclear and fuzzy. A father, a mother, siblings. A life so different from this one. He had been normal. Everything had been so normal.

He wished he wasn't sick because Aang needed help. Maybe he should've said something about Zhao sending special archers after the monk. Ah, Zhao, how Sai hated Zhao. For the good of everyone, that man should be stripped of his military rank and cast into the spirit world. Or killed. Sai would like to kill him. It would be nice to kill Zhao to make himself feel better of the other numerous casualties he was responsible for as a general.

Oh, Zuko's going to save him, right? Sai hoped they would make it out like they did in the cartoon. He hoped he didn't jinx anything by hoping that. There was no wood close by to knock on, and Sai didn't want to burn his hand by touching the wood in the fire.

And why was the fire so hot? Sai could feel the heat all the way from here, or was it just him who was hot? Yeah, he's sweating so he must be the one overheating.

He was thirsty. Sai licked his dry lips. He was also probably a little delirious, judging from his skewed train of thought.

Trains. He should invent trains if heever gets back to the capital.

"Do we have water?" Sai rasped, wincing when his throat scratched as he spoke. Katara held up an empty water skin pouch.

"Sokka, we ran out of water and-"

More coughing came out of Katara and she couldn't finish the sentence. Wordlessly, Sokka took the water pouch from his sister and helped her into a sleeping bag.

"Momo, Appa, look after Katara and Sai," he ordered as he walked out. "I'm coming back to get water."

The sky bison growled and the lemur chirped. Katara nestled inside her sleeping bag, enjoying the Appa's warmth, and glanced at Sai next to her. His skin was shining with sweat and his bangs were in disarray, but Sai still managed to look attractive despite being sick.

"Hey, Katara," he whispered. Even his scratchy voice sounded cool, but Katara hoped they both would get better soon once Aang came back with the medicine.

"Yeah, Sai?" She answered a bit nervously. His vulnerable expression was unnerving compared to his usual guarded demeanor.

Sai asked, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Katara blinked. She didn't know what a woodchuck was, or if Sai was asking her a trick question. Did woodchucks chuck wood?

"Um, I don't know," she admitted.

Sai chuckled even though it came out as a wheeze. "I don't know either, I never knew the answer to that question."

Katara really hoped that Aang would come back soon. She wasn't sure if she could handle Sai like this for the entire day. And where was Sokka?

"Momo, could you find Sokka? So-kka," she instructed. Momo chittered, tilted his head, and flew away. She desperately hoped that the lemur had understood her. About thirty minutes later, Sokka returned with a filled water pouch, but no flying lemur.

"Drink up," he said as he poured some water into Sai's mouth.

"Thanks, Sokka, I knew I could always count on you," the swordsman murmured as he drifted back into sleep.

"Did you hear that, Katara? Sai counts on me," Sokka said cheerfully. "Where's Momo?"

"I sent him to find you," Katara sighed. As if on cue, Momo flew back inside, but it had brought along something. The lemur dropped a dead mouse in front of the waterbender. Katara grimaced and closed her eyes, wishing for sleep.

* * *

oOo

* * *

" _Shen!"_

 _A firebender halted in the middle of his acrobat stunts and turned around at the sound of his name. His mouth broke into a grin when he saw his visitor._

" _Long time no see," Shen greeted his friend. "Last time you came, you were just a colonel."_

 _There was a bit of an age difference between them, Shen was older by several years, but it looked like his friend had grown several inches in the past year. They were nearly the same height now._

 _His friend made a huffing sound. "I was lucky, General Iroh wanted to retire, and they wanted to fill a spot with a puppet."_

 _Noticing the downcast expression on his friend's face, Shen slapped him on the back. Sour expressions didn't suit him at all._

" _Come on, don't think like that, you know they chose you for other reasons," he reminded him._

" _Yeah, to make war machines," he muttered in response, but gave Shen a smile. "So, have you been keeping up with your swords lately?"_

 _Shen's face turned smug. "I have, I don't know if you can keep up now."_

 _He laughed. "Come on, let's go somewhere where we'll see if you can hold by that statement."_

 _Shen didn't doubt that his friend had been slacking on his sword skills, either. Along the way, however, they crossed paths with Commander Kanku._

" _Hong Shen, you were not present during enlistment last week," the gruff man said. "I expect you to sign up in the next wave of recruitments."_

" _Yes sir," Shen muttered, not meeting eyes with the man. Shen continued walking, tugging his friend along. Their behavior was borderline rude, but the further away they were from the man, the better. Shen regretted performing in front of Commander Kanku several months ago; the commander had been pressuring him into joining the army ever since witnessing his firebending acts. He had never considered himself especially skilled in firebending, but it must have been more than enough for Commander Kanku._

" _Who was that?" his friend asked._

" _That was Commander Kanku of the naval fleet stationed here, he's been leeching off everyone just to supply and feed him and his soldiers," Shen replied bitterly, but said nothing more on the topic._

" _I could do something, if you want," he offered cautiously. "An abuse of power report could do the job."_

 _Gratitude swept through Shen's mind as his friend's words. Many mistook his friend's quiet demeanor as standoffish and cold, when really he was simply introverted and actually cared greatly about the people around him. Despite his friend's best intentions, Shen had to decline._

" _No, you shouldn't do anything, he's next in line as admiral," Shen said sternly. "And even though you've got a lot of political leverage, it'll be hard to knock him out of here because he's got supporters among the nobility, too."_

" _If you say so."_

 _If you say so._

 _You should have helped him. You should have done something._

Sai stirred from his sleep. His head hurt. A lot. He bit back a groan as he tried to sit up. A hand pushed him back down easily, and Sai was too weak to fight back.

Sokka hovered over the edge of the swordsman's vision. "Sai? Do you need more water?"

Sai nodded and with Sokka's help, he drank until the water quenched his parch throat. Muttering thanks to Sokka, Sai turned over and closed his eyes, trying to mentally block any more memories from intruding his sleep.

He missed his friend. He hoped Shen was doing well.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Zuko groaned. His head hurt, a lot. He remembered an arrow hitting his mask and then blacking before...who was talking?

"You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with, before the war started, I used to alway visit my friend Kuzon."

Kuzon was a Fire Nation name, Zuko faintly recognized. Its popularity as a name had declined over the years, but it was distinctly Fire Nation. He searched for the person talking and stared at a blurry figure above him until his vision cleared. Zuko stiffened. It was the Avatar. Why was the monk just sitting there, talking to him?

"We'd get in and out of so much trouble together, he was one of the best friends I've ever had and he was from the Fire Nation," the monk recalled with a ghost of a smile on his face. Zuko stared at the airbender, disbelieving that the Avatar was talking to him so casually.

"I have a new friend from the Fire Nation now, his name is Sai and he reminds of Kuzon sometimes so it makes me miss Kuzon even more," the Avatar noted with a bit of nostalgia in his voice.

"If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?"

No, Zuko thought with loathing and charged his fist forward, aiming for the monk. To his great frustration, the airbender dodged the flame with incredible reflexes and leaped onto the nearest branch and continued to jump away in the trees.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Something didn't feel right.

His mouth felt slimy. What was in his mouth? Sai spat it out and nearly gagged when he saw a frog jump in front of him.

"Please tell me that was a frozen frog because the herbalist said it would help," he croaked. Katara yelped when she too, spat out the frog, and grabbed the water pouch to gargle her mouth clean.

"Yeah, it was a frozen frog," Aang called out from where he laid. Sai bent over, running a hand through his hair. He felt better already and his mind was clear. No headaches, no coughing, no sweating. Sai grinned. He felt great.

"Thanks, Aang," he said enthusiastically and did a double take when he saw Katara. She was surrounded with miscellaneous items, trinkets, and accessories. Taking a closer look, he saw that they were ancient pieces of history from the ruins they were staying in. He smirked when Katara took off the crown on her head.

"I like your crown," he observed teasingly.

Katara made a face as she got out of her sleeping bag. "You said some weird stuff, you know."

"Don't worry about it, your highness," Sai returned as he stretched his arms and got off of Appa's leg. He felt really good, almost refreshed. Frozen frogs had done the job well. Katara puffed her cheeks at the title, but dropped the subject. Sai went over to where Aang was lying down on Appa's tail. He took in the airbender's battered appearance with some concern: muddied clothes and ripped in some places. He or Katara would have to mend Aang's clothes later.

"What happened?" Sai squatted next to Aang.

"You look like you went through some trouble getting those frozen frogs," Sokka noted.

"Yeah, some trouble," Aang said softly. "Sorry, I'm just a bit tired."

The Water siblings and Sai exchanged uncertain looks, but left the airbender alone, getting ready for a meal.

"Um, Sai?"

Aang wrapped his arms around his legs when Sai turned around, Sokka and Katara paid no mind. Sokka was tending to the fire while Katara was rummaging through their bags on Appa's back.

"Do you know about the Fire Nation Prince Zuko?" the monk asked quietly.

Sai scratched his head. "I do, what about him?"

"Do you know why he chases me? I know I'm the Avatar and the Fire Nation doesn't like me, but why is it always him who keeps finding me?" Aang hung his head.

The ex-Fire Nation soldier rubbed the back of his neck and sat down in front of Aang.

"There's an actual story behind this," Sai said slowly. "Only a number of people know the specific details about Prince Zuko."

The airbender looked up curiously. "Do you know why?"

"Well, soldiers like to gossip a lot, I was lucky enough to hear the story from a general," Sai lied. In truth, Sai had been there and heard it all, seen it all.

"Tell me, please, I want to know," Aang pleaded. The swordsman sighed, slightly uncomfortable at sharing someone else's past. He sent a mental apology to Zuko and rubbed his eyes before starting.

"It's a kind of a long story," he began, raising an eyebrow at Aang. The airbender cracked a smile at the similar words he had said just several days ago during the big storm.

"I think we have some time," the monk laughed.

* * *

oOo

* * *

 _If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?_

Zuko sat up in his bed, leaning his elbows against his knees and head in his hands. There was no way they could have been friends now. Zuko didn't even consider the possibility of meeting the monk a hundred years ago. In his life, there were no 'ifs', but simply dealing with reality. His reality was banishment and the search for the Avatar as his only way of gaining his father's acceptance.

And who was Sai? Sai was a relatively popular name among the nobles and a common nickname in the capital, but he's never personally known someone named 'Sai'. Zuko's mouth twisted. The monk's Fire Nation friend was most likely a traitor to his own nation if he really was travelling with the Avatar. The memory from the storm flashed across his mind. When the Avatar and his flying bison had flown out of the ocean, maybe the one Zuko had mistaken had been Sai instead.

* * *

oOo

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.


	5. Water : The Fortuneteller :: Fortunes

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water : The Fortuneteller :: Fortunes

* * *

A/N: It's been too long. Thank you and sorry for the long wait, you guys have been really patient with me.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Sai and Sokka's stomachs growled simultaneously.

Sai clutched his gut, grimacing. "So, what are we eating for lunch?"

The group was conveniently camped by a wide expanse of a river. Since they were right next to a forest, Momo had disappeared for the time being, presumably to find grub to eat. The flying lemur always returned to them so they didn't grow worried about Momo's whereabouts unless it's gone for a long time. Sai briefly admired the scenery around them for perhaps the hundredth time that day before his stomach grumbled again. Though they had enough dried food to last at least another week, that was reserved for their hunger in the air when travelling. If they were on ground, they scavenged for something to eat in order to sustain their preserved food supply. Earlier that day, Katara had found an entire bush of edible berries and Aang had found plenty of nuts, but Sokka and Sai always felt most satisfied with some sort of meat.

After a moment of the group's contemplation, Katara pointed to the lake.

"Look!"

Sokka jumped up at the sight: a number of brightly colored green fish leaping out of the water and performing a flamboyant display of flashing scales and fins. One fish with a distinctly smug expression zeroed on Sokka and Sai's faces. As if goading. Sokka and Sai exchanged looks. Sai stood up and joined Sokka at the water edge.

"He is taunting us," Sokka lamented.

"He's going to be lunch," Sai vowed. Sokka immediately zipped for his fishing pole and reached the for the line only to grasp nothing along the pole.

"Hey, where's the fishing line?"

"Oh, I thought you wouldn't need it, Sokka," Aang said, holding up the removed string, but knotted. Sai tilted his head. Was that a friendship bracelet?

"Agh, it's all tangled," Sokka groaned.

"Not tangled, woven," Aang corrected and faced Katara, a sheepish smile forming on his face. "I made this for you, Katara, I thought since you lost your other one…"

The hopeful lovesick tone of Aang's voice was not lost on the swordsman and Sai raised his brows. So it wasn't a friendship bracelet. Not a bracelet, but a necklace and not for friendship, either. He had noticed the Avatar's particular fondness for Katara, but he hadn't expected Aang to recognize those feelings as romantic so early into their travels. The swordsman supposed he couldn't really blame the airbender. Despite being the only constant female presence around, Katara was attractive in appearance and personality. In this world, she was of age to get married, or at least be betrothed to another. Sai had almost forgotten that Katara used to wear a necklace that had belonged to her deceased mother, and before that, her grandmother.

Zuko must have it at the moment, Sai assumed and the image of Zuko holding onto the traditional Water Tribe jewelry made him nearly snort. Zuko probably wasn't even aware of the purpose of the necklace, only that he could perhaps use it to track the Avatar down.

Katara smiled and took the necklace from the airbender, holding it up. "Thanks, Aang, I love it."

Sai briefly wondered if Katara would ever wear a different Water Tribe betrothal necklace. He fondly thought that she'd make an incredible partner. Compassionate, warm-hearted, caring, thoughtful, beautiful inside and out, and though lacking formal training, Katara was even a talented waterbender, to finish it all. Watching Katara graciously accept Aang's gift, Sai gazed at Katara in a distracted manner.

"Great, Aang, how about instead of saving the world, you go into the jewelry making business?" Sokka sarcastically remarked.

The light ridicule flew over Aang's head and he simply shrugged. "I don't see why I can't do both," he said cheerily. Sokka opened his mouth as though to retort another sarcastic comment, but a splash of water behind the Water Tribe boy grabbed his attention. Seeing another fish flip in the air, Sokka hurled his fishing pole which also happened to double as a spear.

"Sai, come on, let's get lunch!" Sokka called out as he pulled out his trusty dagger from its sheath. Sai tore his gaze away from Katara, shaking his head.

"Right, lunch," Sai repeated in a low voice and took off his leather boots and greaves before following Sokka into the water. The river was cold, but not to a degree that the two would get sick afterwards. Rolling up his sleeves to the elbows, Sai directed his full attention to the fish swimming boldly in front of them, not even afraid of the hunters. He didn't have his katana, a detail he had been noting everyday ever since his meeting with the Water Tribe siblings and Aang. The regret never lessened, but Sai had given up beating himself up over it. He probably wouldn't get it back. Without his sword, he'd have to catch the fish with his bare hands. He'd never done it before, but Sai was willing to spend the entire day catching fish if that's what it was going to take to fill his stomach.

"Come on," Sai murmured, bending over so low that his elbows almost rested on his knees. His fingers twitched when one drew closer to him. He decided to call it Lunch. Sai knew that grabbing the fish by the tail would most likely entail the highest chance of success. Next to him, Sokka didn't hesitate and impatiently dove head first into the water for a target. Allowing Lunch to approach his reach for another second, Sai's hand whipped out, seizing the long tail. Though Lunch attempted to dart away, the swordsman swiftly yanked the fish out of the water, keeping a firm grip on the slippery tail.

"Gotcha," Sai crowed victoriously. Sokka's head burst out of the water and grinned when he saw the fish in his friend's hand.

"Yes!" Sokka pumped a fist into the air and lovingly took the wriggling fish into his own arms. Sai picked up Sokka's abandoned fishing rod-spear pole and the two began wading through the water back to shore when they saw Katara, jewelry in place.

"So, how do I look?" She gestured to her new necklace.

Aang nervously pulled the collar of his clothes. "You mean, all of you, or just your neck? I mean, they both look great."

Sai nearly rolled his eyes as he wrung out the water in his clothes and pulled on his leather boots and greaves. The airbender had it bad.

"Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love," Sokka ribbed in a sing-song voice. Holding the fish at an arm's length, Sokka made kissing faces at Lunch. Taking advantage of the loose grip, Lunch fin-slapped Sokka in the face with considerable force and escaped.

The Water Tribe's voice jumped an octave as he fell backwards into the river. "Oof!"

Sai laughed aloud. Sokka's antics were always making him break his usual composed temper. However, as soon as the laughs subsided, Sai noticed that there was no fish to be found.

"Lunch," Sai remorsefully said as he watched the fish speedily swim away. Embarrassed by Sokka's teasing, Aang rubbed his head, a blush rapidly gathering in his cheeks.

"I-uh, well," Aang uneasily stuttered.

"Stop teasing him, Sokka, Aang's just a good friend," Katara cut in. Sai winced at Aang's hurt expression. Classic friendzoning.

"A sweet little guy," Katara continued, rubbing Aang's head affectionately like an older sister would do to a younger sibling. Sai hid a smile; he was a bit sad on the Avatar's behalf, but Aang's glum expression was honestly funny.

"Just like Momo," Katara finished while adopting her pet-voice she reserved for the flying lemur and bison. And that was the final blow, Aang's shoulders slumped and Sai could nearly imagine grey clouds thundering and raining over the monk.

"Thanks," the airbender said in a small voice.

"Right, if Momo also made jewelry out of fishing lines," Sokka sniffed. Sai coughed to hide a snicker; he couldn't help himself at this point. The scene was downright entertaining for the ex-soldier.

Katara placed her hands on her hips, warning, "Sokka, stop moping over this fish and Sai, stop laughing!"

The ex-soldier chuckled, "Yes, yes, princess."

Katara made a face, but blushed from the nickname. Ever since Sai had recovered from his fever and saw Katara surrounded with strange objects and a strange crown sitting on her head, he had taken to teasing Katara "your highness" or "princess" whenever she would start to lightly scold them. She understood that he didn't use the terms in a derogatory way, but to gently remind her if she raised her voice a little too much over trivial matters. Katara didn't mind, she supposed, but in a way, it was embarrassing.

Her father was a chief, which technically gave her some social standing, however Katara never really thought of herself that way. Her tribe was small and weakened and couldn't compare to what it had been before the numerous Fire Nation attacks and raidings. Katara didn't consider herself a princess; she's had to babysit, do household chores, errands, watch her brother, and take care of the village's every need, all of which were tasks that princesses in other lands probably never did. She didn't mind, of course, because she didn't believe comparing herself to other girls around the world was a logical thing to do.

Nonetheless, hearing Sai call her "princess" or "your highness" gave her a small amount of happiness. Everytime he'd say it as if it were a compliment and he'd look at her with a crooked smile and mirthful glint in his eyes. She wouldn't admit it, but she sort of enjoyed the playful teasing. The romantic side of her insisted that it could also be a form of flirting, however her rational side knew that Sai wouldn't do that. However it was harder to think otherwise because recently it's been becoming more of a nickname than a gentle reminder.

Before anyone could say another word, the sound of a hostile animal echoed from nearby. Always quick to move, Aang airbended his way to the top of a large boulder far away for height.

The airbender exclaimed, "Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!"

The Water Tribe siblings and Sai immediately sprinted towards where Aang was pointing. Platypus bears were fearsome creatures and extremely difficult to deal with. Bipedal and standing nearly eight feet, equipped with claws and sharp teeth like a bear, and a powerful rudder-like tail, platypus bears weren't very fun to deal with. The monk was yelling advice by the time the others reached him. Sokka and Katara promptly joined Aang's shouts of guidance.

"Make noise, it'll run off!"

"No, play dead! It'll lose interest!"

"Run down hill, then climb a tree!"

Instead of joining the three, Sai watched the man being attacked and then began to wonder if the person even needed help. Donning clean blue robes of decent quality, the man nimbly weaved and dodged the platypus bear's long swipes and even expertly side-stepped a tail thump. No, the traveler didn't need their help; Sai suspected that the stranger was a martial arts master of some sort to be able to handle this situation without a sign of worry on his face.

After a particularly close call, Aang crouched in order to jump in between the animal and the stranger, but Sai held him back.

"No, just watch," the swordsman instructed to Aang's concerned expression.

"He's going to die!" Sokka shrieked.

"W _atch_ ," Sai said in a determined voice. The group continued to observe without intervening. Although Sai was much more relaxed, the other three were visibly upset and flinching every time the man barely dodged. More tree splinters flew and there were even more life-threatening moments, however at some point, everyone could see that the platypus bear's attacks were gradually getting slower and sloppier. In a last ditch effort, the frustrated animal roared at the man, but it didn't expect a flying bison roaring in response from behind.

Appa huffed aggressively at the platypus bear as if the bison dared the bear to challenge him. In fear, the platypus bear laid an egg on the spot and frantically scurried into the river and swam away.

"Lunch," Sokka and Sai said together. The Water Tribe picked up the large egg, still warm, and rubbed it lovingly.

"You're lucky we came along," Sokka contended in a mildly arrogant tone.

Unfazed by the passing of the dangerous encounter, the man calmly stated, "Thanks, but everything was already under control, nothing to worry about."

Sai smiled when Sokka shot him an unsatisfied expression. Sure, Appa had helped in the end, but admittingly, the man _did_ have everything under control.

"Aunt Wu predicted that I'd have a safe journey," the traveler continued. Sai raised his eyebrows. Ah, so they were near the Fortuneteller's town. That meant that Zuko and Iroh would be close behind in less that a few weeks once they enter the next populated place after meeting the Fortuneteller. Sai gazed into nothing as he worriedly contemplated about the near future events, unaware of the conversation happening in front of him.

"Maybe we could go see Aunt Wu and hear our fortunes, it could be fun!"

"Oh, come on, fortunetelling is nonsense, right Sai?"

Snapping back to reality, Sai blinked. "Sorry?"

The traveler was gone, but had left behind a present in Aang's hands. The monk wasted no time and tore apart the packaging.

"Whaddya know? An umbrella!" Aang held out a well-crafted umbrella and opened it. Without hesitation, Sai ducked underneath the cover and took the handle from Aang since he was taller of the two. Immediately, thunder boomed and rain fell without warning and Sai internally remarked the timing of it all. He had lost count of the number of times nature had gone in favor of comedic moments in this universe.

Katara happily shielded herself with waterbending before joining Sai and Aang under the umbrella, saying, "That proves it!"

Out of stubbornness, Sokka refused to join the umbrella though there was barely enough space for one more.

"No it doesn't, you can't _really_ tell the future," he grounded out.

"Get under the umbrella, Sokka," the swordsman ordered gently.

"No," was the stubborn reply.

"Sokka, we can't have you get sick or worse, drop the egg," Sai said dryly. The Water Tribe sulked for one more second, but listened the the older teen and all four of them squeezed under the umbrella's protection. Sai sacrificed half of his own body so that the other three would be fully safe and dry from the cold rain and together, they trudged back to their camp.

"The sky's been grey all day, of course she could tell it was going to rain," Sokka grumbled.

"Actually, the sky had been relatively clear until now," Sai corrected.

"Just admit that you might be wrong," Katara suggested.

Sokka stepped out of the umbrella, fed up with the conversation while getting beaten down with rain. "Look, I'm going to predict the future now: it's going to keep drizzling."

And almost as painful as it was predictable, the rain subsided after Sokka's words. Even the sun came out shining brightly.

Sai chuckled when Aang apologetically said, "Not everyone has the gift, Sokka."

Sokka muttered more complaints under his breath as he stomped ahead of them, cradling the large egg in his arms.

"Don't drop the egg, Sokka," Sai called out in an amused voice. Katara and Aang snickered next to him as the ex-soldier folded the umbrella and shook the water droplets out of it. The left side of his body was almost soaked to the bone, but Sai didn't mind. On their way back to camp in the forest, Katara's foot got caught in a chunk of tangled grass, tripping her, but Sai managed to grab her arm before she could hit the ground.

"Careful, your highness," he said casually, slipping in the nickname without thought. As per her usual reaction, Katara scowled without heat, but said her thanks with a slightly pink face. Despite Sokka's protests, the group decided to drop by the town after a filling lunch before they make their next long flight on Appa. They needed to purchase a few miscellaneous items, such as more fishing lines now that Sokka's last one had turned into a necklace.

The Makapu Village was a well-established town as evident by its bustling town's center courtyard and nicely dressed residents. After retrieving and buying the needed items, Katara led the group's search for the famed fortuneteller until they finally reached one large house separated from the others.

A man standing in front of the door gestured for them to answer. "Aunt Wu is expecting you," he said mysteriously.

Katara brightened while Sokka snorted in indifference. Sai also had to acknowledge the extreme vagueness of that welcome, but didn't voice his thoughts. Inside they were greeted by Meng, Aunt Wu's assistant, who was oddly enamored with Aang the moment they walked in. After they removed their footwear and cleaned their hands, Meng led them to the waiting room and continuously catered most of her questions to the airbender who deflected the attention, unaffected by the girl's unsubtle intentions. Once Meng left them to notify the fortuneteller of their presence, Sokka began voicing his complaints again.

"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense," he started to gripe. Sai gestured for the others to take the three sitting pillows on the floor and opted to lean against the wall near Katara.

Katara tried appealing to her brother in exasperation. "Try to keep an open mind, Sokka, there are things in this world that just can't be explained, wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?"

"Well, Sai doesn't think so, do you?" Sokka deflected.

Sai shrugged and simply answered, "There are some people who do have some natural foresight, but some do fake it. Just relax, Sokka, your sister's right, this could be fun."

"See? Even Sai thinks so," Katara maintained while preening at the words of support.

"But, it's also best to take fortunetelling with a grain of salt," the swordsman added. Sokka smirked at his sister in petty victory, and Katara's second of smugness disappeared.

When Meng returned with a tray of treats and cups of tea, another visitor walked out of Aunt Wu's fortunetelling room, visibly pleased with her fortune.

"Oh, Meng! Aunt Wu said that I'm going to meet my true love! He's going to give me a rare panda lily," the woman expressed with excitement.

"That's so romantic," Meng responded dreamily and looked to the side towards Aang. "I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower."

"Good luck with that," Aang remarked. Sai couldn't help himself. He tried hiding his smile behind a hand, but Meng still noticed and she made a face at him.

The woman bent over and giggled. "Is that the big-eared guy who Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?"

This time, a snicker escaped out of Sai. Embarrassed, Meng pushed the visitor towards the door and laid down the tray in front of Aang.

"E-enjoy your snack," she said quickly before dashing out of the waiting room. Katara smiled at the hospitality while Sai coughed to keep his laughter under control. Before either Sokka or Sai could try a snack on the tray, an elderly woman dressed in rich yellow fabrics and a metal headdress graced them with her presence.

"Welcome, young travelers," she greeted smoothly. "Now who's next? Don't be shy."

Looking at Katara, Sai jerked his head towards the fortuneteller, silently telling her to go first.

The waterbender grinned and got up to follow the woman into the other room. "I guess that's me."

Sokka instantly began stuffing his face with the bowl of snacks from the tray, making pleased sounds from his throat since his mouth was busy chewing.

"So…what do you guys think they're talking about back there?" Aang wondered.

Sokka held out a cup of tea before slurping it down. "Boring stuff, I'm sure: love, who she's going to marry, how many babies she's going to have."

"Yeah," Aang faltered and started fidgeting. "Dumb stuff like that."

Sai asked, "Aang, are you okay?"

The slouching monk stopped biting his nails and straightened his spine at the question.

"Yeah, I just need to go find the bathroom," he squeaked. With two sitting pillows now vacated, Sai went over and took Aang's spot. The ex-soldier made a sound of surprise when he tried tasting a cream puff from the tray.

"I know right?" Sokka agreed and ate another handful of the treats.

After eating a few more, Sai excused himself. "I need to use the bathroom, too."

The swordsman walked into the hallway and paused when he saw Aang pressing an ear against the sliding door to the fortunetelling room.

"Aang? What are you doing?" Sai whispered.

The monk jerked in surprise and said in a flustered voice, "Uh, listening if they know where the bathroom is?"

Sai pointed down the hall in the opposite direction. "I think it's over there."

"Right, on the second thought, I'm good! You can go, Sai," the airbender whispered back before going back to the waiting room. Sai ignored the obvious fact that Aang had been eavesdropping and turned around to go the bathroom. Judging by the large smile on the monk's face, Aang must have overheard some details that really pleased him. By the time Sai returned to the waiting room, Aunt Wu had finished Katara's fortune telling and was taking in the next visitor.

"Who's next?"

Sokka grunted as he stood up, stretching his back as if he were sixty years older. "Okay, let's get this over with."

At the sight of the Water Tribe boy, Aunt Wu raised her eyebrows in pity.

"Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of which, self-inflicted," she predicted in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sokka protested at the informal and unpleasant fortunetelling. "But you didn't even look at my palms or anything!"

"I don't need to, it's written all over your face," Aunt Wu retorted impassively. Behind the elderly woman, Sai huffed in amusement. At the sound, the fortuneteller turned around and pointed at the swordsman.

"You then, come with me," she directed. The slight grimace on Sai's face went unnoticed by the woman, but he walked behind her into the back room. Sitting in front of the center hearth, Aunt Wu sat next to Sai and requested him to remove the fingerless glove off of his favored hand. Tracing the lines of the calloused palm, Aunt Wu hummed thoughtfully.

"How strange," she muttered.

Sai delicately raised a brow "Pardon?"

"Your palm does not reveal anything in particular for your future, even your line of life is obscure and ambiguous," she commented and released her grip on the swordsman's hand.

"Instead, choose a bone," she instructed as she held out a platter of polished animal bones ranging in size and age. Pulling his glove back on, Sai's eyes didn't miss the way how the fortuneteller's hand lingered on one particularly large bone at the edge of the plate, as if suggesting to him to choose it.

Sai reached for a small knuckle bone on the opposite side. "I'll take this one."

Aunt Wu chuckled. "Are you sure?"

"Very," he responded firmly.

"Something tells me you were eyeing this one instead," she insisted as she held out the large bone Sai had suspected that Aunt Wu wanted him to pick.

So this is how she gets to choose her predictions, Sai observed. How interesting.

Sai smirked and shortly said, "Sure."

The knowing smile on the swordsman's face was not lost on Aunt Wu. She was a master at body language and facial expressions; she knew that the young man had already caught onto her subtle mind tricks. Aunt Wu sniffed, but continued with the fortunetelling. Regardless if he figured out some tricks of her practice, he would still be impressed by her skills. This profession required more than simple mind tricks and she would show him that.

"Throw the bone into the fire," she ordered, and Sai complied.

"The heat makes cracks in the bones," Aunt Wu began to explain as they watched the bone baking in the intense heat.

"And you make predictions based off those cracks on the bone that I supposedly chose," Sai finished for her in a sardonic tone.

Indifferent to her visitor's sarcastic remark, Aunt Wu nodded. "Correct, you're catching on quickly, have you done fortunetelling before?"

"Yes, an old friend of mine enjoyed it before turning to Pai Sho for his source of entertainment," Sai said lightly.

She asked, "Is your friend any good at Pai Sho?"

"Not exactly, however he'd always place the white lotus tile at the center." Sai said this while looking at Aunt Wu in the eye, holding a steady gaze. To her credit, Aunt Wu hesitated only for a miniscule of a second before managing to respond.

"Is that so," she murmured and got up, shuffling to a nearby elaborate wooden drawer. After filing through its contents, the fortuneteller returned to the hearth with a white lotus tile in hand.

"There is an abbey past this town that will provide shelter, you can have this until then," Aunt Wu intoned with a twinkle in her eye. Sai's left gloved hand folded over the tile and he nodded.

"Thank you."

Aunt Wu waved a hand, a dismissive tone returning to her voice. "Of course, now, getting back to your fortune."

Sai would be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in hearing what the fortuneteller had to say about him. He knew that her prowess as a fortuneteller consisted half magician tricks, while the other half may actually have something to do with communicating with spirits. Using prongs, Aunt Wu picked up the bone that now had several thin cracks that vertically streaked across the ivory surface.

"My, my, I see a displaced leader and soldier," she began in an ominous voice while turning the bone over in her hands. "With a hidden past and many secrets, spirits, and ambitions plaguing your shadow."

The only indication that her beginning statements affected Sai was the twitch of an eye on his poker face.

"Vague," was his only input of thoughts.

Paying no heed to the terse side comments, the fortuneteller continued, "Despite excelling in everything you have tried your hand in, it seems that your greatest fears go beyond this world, oh my..."

Nearly rolling his eyes at the lady's theatrics, Sai kept his tongue back so that she could finish the bone reading.

"And…?" he prompted almost impatiently. The fortuneteller pointed at Sai's bare scabbard hanging on his belt.

"You shall live to be old enough to see the sword return to the scabbard, your children to leave the house, and see the spirits before you die," Aunt Wu finished mildly. There was a pause of silence before Sai brought a hand to cover his face, embarrassed.

What an awful prediction.

"Am I done?" Sai asked in a lifeless voice.

Aunt Wu delicately put down the scarred bone and stood up.

"Yes, you may return to the waiting room," she declared. Sai grunted in response and winced when his knees made popping sounds.

He paused before completely exiting the room. "Oh, and please keep the lotus tile quiet from my group. It's not time yet."

Aunt Wu nodded, her facade as a fortuneteller melting away for a moment. Sai smiled briefly behind a shoulder and left the incense-congested room, gripping the game tile in his hand tightly. When he went back to the waiting room, he saw three young teenagers looking suspiciously calm in their lack of activity. Aang was leaning against a wall, whistling, Katara appeared to be strangely engrossed in the furniture, and Sokka...the Water Tribe boy wasn't even trying to hide how strange he appeared as he examined the carpet.

"What are you guys doing?"

Aang and Katara straightened, hands sheepishly rubbing the back of their heads, but Sokka continued scanning the rug on the floor.

"Can't you see? I'm checking the carpet for...spirits," Sokka answered brazenly. "Or a hidden past, some ambition, maybe a couple of secrets."

Sai eyed the three of them, torn between amusement and perhaps a little bit of irritation at the obvious display of eavesdropping.

"Right," he purposely dragged the word, enjoying the embarrassment on the three faces in front of him grow heavier.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Isn't Aunt Wu amazing? She definitely seemed to know what she's talking about, right Sai?"

Sai's unfocused eyes settled on Katara before murmuring in a faint voice, "Hm? Yeah, sure, definitely amazing."

Katara made a light frown at the weak reply and how the swordsman returned to dazing off. Sai had been distracted ever since returning from Aunt Wu's fortunetelling, so she wondered if his fortune had been bothering him. Judging from his cloudy expression, his mind seemed to be plagued with storming thoughts. Katara was the first to detect the change in Sai's mood, and though Sokka hadn't caught on yet, Aang was beginning to take notice also.

The airbender nudged Sai. "Are you hungry?"

As if on cue, a low gurgle came out of the swordsman's gut, awakening him out his daydream.

Sai huffed when the other three giggled. "Okay, let's eat."

They found a small restaurant that was relatively packed, but the noise level was low. After making quick orders, they sat down at a table with Katara and Sokka facing the other two. Water siblings and Aang easily fell into an excited conversation, swapping their fortunes from Aunt Wu. Sai might have been facing his friends, but it was clear that his eyes and mind were not present. A million thoughts were cranking between his mental gears.

"-you, Sai?"

He blinked. "What?"

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"I'm...fine," the ex-soldier managed to say, although the slight pause told his friends otherwise. The deep crease in his brow was another obvious indication that Sai was bothered by something on his mind.

Aang hedged forward with a question. "Um, well, what did Aunt Wu say about your fortune?"

A corner of Sai's mouth lifted. "Don't you guys already know? You all were overhearing, weren't you?"

"Yeah, uh, we're sorry about that, we were curious," the airbender said with an apologetic grin.

"No worries, we all are," Sai responded and gave the Avatar a stern look. Aang caught on and his face paled slightly when recalling how Sai had caught him overhearing Katara's fortune. Sai always seemed to catch Aang at the awkward moments.

"So," Sokka began eagerly. "Do you have spirits following you? Or a hidden past we don't know of? Secrets that you're hiding? A personal ambition?"

Katara sighed, vexed at her brother's continuous display of bull-headedness.

" _Sokka_ ," she said in a reprimanding tone, but in that same moment she gave a sideways glance to Sai. "But, um, do you?"

How should he answer this, Sai mused. Twirling a pair of metal chopsticks in his hands (all travelers carried their own set of eating utensils), Sai's reflection briefly flashed on the polished surface. His eyes were steady and unwavering, there were no shifts in his gaze. Sai had always heard that a liar's lies could be detected by looking at their eyes, but people never seemed to catch him with his. Sometimes, even Sai wouldn't be able to discern the words that came out of his mouth. It was one reason he didn't enjoy looking at mirrors. His face was too impassive and emotionless; his previous life would have disliked someone like him.

The airbender watched Sai twirl his chopsticks when a sudden dark look in his eyes flared with such intensity that it startled Aang. He glanced at Katara and Sokka to see if they saw it too, but their normal expressions showed that they hadn't noticed. And just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone a second later. Aang blinked and shook his head slightly. He must be seeing things.

"The fortuneteller gave me a bit of information that I needed to know," Sai said slowly. "I'll admit, Aunt Wu was right about me having secrets, a past, and ambition, but everyone has those, and mine are just as normal as everybody else's."

Katara leaned forward. "What did she tell you?"

"There's an abbey up north, and they can help us for shelter, but the more important part is that it seems a Water Tribe fleet was sighted there."

Sokka and Katara were stunned.

"A Water Tribe fleet?!" Sokka cried out. "We have to go now, Dad could be in that fleet!"

"Sokka, wait, Appa still needs to rest from the constant flying," Sai said firmly. "Also, I wanted to say that once we go up north, we'll be seeing more Fire Nation activity."

The siblings and airbender understandably looked alarmed at that detail.

Sokka asked, "How do you know that?"

"As a colonel, I received messenger hawks from other battalions about their stations and we had a map that outlined all military positions. Especially in the northwest part of this land, there's going to be more squads, platoons, towns under military control, and Fire Nation colonies," Sai explained. "So you'll get to the abbey in two days, which is how long we planned to stay here, but once you all leave this town, you guys have to be more careful."

"So, we wait for two days," Katara said in a quiet voice, unfazed by the threat the Fire Nation posed for them. Sokka's shoulders slumped a little at that, but the eager look in his eye did not die down. Katara too seemed equally as anxious as her brother, and Sai couldn't blame their impatience. They've been separated from their only living parent too long for children of their age. That goes the same for Aang, too, who no longer had his own people. At that thought, Sai laid a hand on Aang's shoulder, who was sitting next to him and keeping silence throughout the whole exchange about the Water Tribe fleet. The airbender looked up questioningly at the swordsman who was giving him a small, but warm smile. Then Aang realized that Sai must have sensed his internal unease of thinking about his old home, the Southern Air Temple, and returned the older teenager's comforting smile with one of his own. Aang really appreciated Sai's perception at moments like these; the swordsman always took notice of Aang's emotions whenever he felt down. But something Sai said caught Aang's attention.

Aang spoke up. "But, Sai, you're making it seem like you're not coming with us?"

Sai nodded. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave you guys on your own for a bit," he said. Expectedly, confused voices erupted, asking questions.

"What?"

"What do you mea-"

"Leave us?"

Sai hurried to explain. "No, I'm not _leaving_ you guys, I was simply thinking of separating for about a week. I want to go to the abbey first and then check into a Fire Nation town more north of there. There's a couple of Fire Nation details I have to figure out before we go past that town to make sure it's safe."

The Water Tribe siblings and Aang exchanged worried glances. They weren't too fond of the idea of letting Sai travel alone, even though they knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself for only a week. They also knew that they couldn't control Sai. They had been traveling together for nearly more than one month, and the swordsman had already displayed significantly high levels of clear judgement and planning skills. Sai's thoughts were consistently logical and held no ulterior motives, there were no particular reasons to object to his plan. The fact that he was proposing to travel alone showed the lengths at which he had been contemplating their safety all this time. It would explain why he had been so distracted for the past hour.

Aang decidedly said, "Okay, what kind of plan did you have in mind?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

One meal and some time later, the group was standing at the edge of the town. Sai hefted his travel bag with necessities onto his back and laughed when he saw three somber faces. He rubbed their heads one by one.

"Hey, we'll be seeing each other in six days," he promised them, trying to raise their spirits. "I'll meet you guys at the next Fire Nation colony town."

To his surprise, the siblings and Aang crowded Sai for a hug.

"Okay, now I'm uncomfortable," Sai admitted to the younger ones' delight. Before he left the town border, Sai stared towards the quiet volcano at which the town was based.

"Also, you guys might want to check how long the volcano's been inactive," he called out over a shoulder as he stepped onto the worn path to the abbey. Aang, Katara, and Sokka looked up, and gaped when they saw curls of smoke rising above the jagged peak.

* * *

oOo

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I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: I want to say thank you everyone for reading, especially to those who have reviewed the past chapters. I've been having a hard time to keep writing, but rereading your reviews definitely helped me crank out this chapter. Sorry for the grammar, spelling, and typo errors, haha, I wanted to get this out here as soon as possible. Hope you all are doing well.


	6. Water : Bato of the Water Tribe :: Ahead

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water : Bato of the Water Tribe :: Ahead

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oOo

* * *

A _displaced leader and soldier-_

Sai breathed in and out.

 _With a hidden past and many secrets, spirits, and ambitions plaguing your shadow-_

Some memories, both welcome and unwelcome, flashed through his mind. Sai pressed the side of his head as if to push the memories out.

 _Despite excelling in everything you have tried your hand in, it seems that your greatest fears go beyond this world-_

True. He would be lying if he hadn't stood out among his peers in the Fire Nation capital. His past life had given him an enviable edge in almost all aspects of life: maturity, understanding of the physical world, science, math, speech development, and more. He had nearly given his own mother a heart attack when he spoke his first words, which happened to be a string of sentences determining the mechanics required of a steam engine. Admittingly, revealing his speech capability like that to his mother had been an accident.

As for the fortuneteller's prediction of fear, Sai honestly wasn't sure what exactly were his greatest fears. He could, however, imagine unforeseen death as one of them.

 _You shall live to be old enough to see the sword return to the scabbard, your children to leave the house, and see the spirits before you die._

Sai had issues with this part of the prophecy. It wasn't hard to view the prediction in a positive light; it basically stated that he would live a long life, have a family with children that would grow up, and perhaps even find peace among the spirits.

However, it predicted a happy life he could never imagine himself having. Sai did not dare to believe that he had the pleasure of indulging in such a pleasant future when he had a past full of memories and information pressing down on his mind constantly..

He didn't deserve a happy ending. He had done a lot of things he wasn't proud of. His past life wouldn't like him. He was manipulative and lied. A lot. He was from the capital. Aang and the Water Tribe siblings didn't really know who he was. He was only holding onto a facade of a person he would like to be. He wanted to be the hero, but this life would not allow him, so he would have to circumvent those restrictions.

Pushing away the depressing thoughts, Sai focused on the road in front of him. The abbey had been extremely hospitable to him last night, granting him room and board when he presented the white lotus tile to the head nun, Superior. The Superior was actually an old friend of the Fortuneteller from the previous town, so she gladly welcomed him without asking too many questions. They even stocked him with two days worth of rations for the rest of his journey, plus a small bottle of something similar to deoderant from his old world. It was a godsend and a priceless gift that Sai was genuinely grateful for. This world made it somewhat difficult to maintain high standards of personal hygiene.

Sitting down against a boulder that rested at the side of the dirt road, Sai took a small swig of water from his water pouch to quench his parched mouth. It was a warm day, but he noted how his throat felt heavy after an entire day of disuse. Without Aang or the Water siblings to keep him company, Sai had no one to talk to. He wasn't one to talk aloud to himself either, so the loneliness was starting to creep on him, which was interesting since Sai never really craved companionship. Ever since he was young, he was fine being left alone to his own devices. It was also easier to cope with his troubles, emotions and memories rather than constantly interacting with other people and their own worries.

After taking a short ten minute break, Sai continued down the road, in search of a tavern. Rather than the tavern, he was more interested in the infamous bounty hunter that frequented the place.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Sokka stoked the fire, feeling the warmth against his face. Aang and his sister were asleep, and though they've never really needed someone to keep watch, Sokka decided he'd take the loose responsibility for the night. After all, he was thinking about his father, therefore he couldn't sleep.

His dad left when he was young, and when Katara was even younger. He didn't exactly understand why his father decided to leave him behind, and Sokka worried that if he didn't understand, then Katara probably had an even harder time trying to understand their father's actions. Not for the first time, Sokka wished the Sai was with them. Maybe he could have opened up a little about his thoughts to Sai. Sai always had an open ear and seemed to know the right words to say; Sokka could use some of that encouragement right now.

Deep in thought, Sokka absentmindedly poked the fire, until he heard a rustle not far away from their camp.

Immediately alert, he called out in a stern voice, "Who's there?"

A tanned older man in Water Tribe clothes entered the light of the campfire. "Sokka?"

Sokka stared in disbelief. "Bato?"

Aang stirred at the noise, rubbing his eyes. "Who-the-what-now?"

Awake, Katara lept out of her sleeping bag in excitement, recognizing their unexpected visitor. "Bato!"

Aang introduced himself, also elated to meet someone from his friends' hometown. "Hi, my name is Aang!"

Katara and Sokka quickly chatted up with Bato, who also enthusiastically answered all of their questions, understanding their concerns for their father, Chief Hakoda. Their conversation unintentionally left Aang in the dust, since the topic easily centered around people only the Southern Water Tribe members knew and customs they practiced that the airbending monk wouldn't know of. Feeling a little off-put, but happy that Sokka and Katara had found someone from their dad's fleet, Aang followed them to the abbey hidden in the forest next to the shore.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Before Sai entered the tavern, he heard it. Dim lights and raucous voices flooded out of the windows and entrance and suspicious looking figures hung around the sides of the tavern. Sai made sure his bag was tied tightly and that nothing on him seemed remotely expensive. Places like these attracted unwanted characters, and he had to avoid appearing like an easy target for money or exploitation. Criminals, thieves, and pickpockets could find weak personalities from a mile away.

Walking in, Sai avoided looking around the stuffy room and made a beeline for the bar, sitting on one of the stools lined up. The bartender, recognizing an unfamiliar face, stopped cleaning mugs and went over to him.

The man held up a sealed bottle, most likely rice wine. "Drink?"

Sai nodded, sliding enough bronze coins onto the bar. The bartender quickly poured him a drink, but instead of going back to cleaning cups, he loitered in front of Sai, arms crossed.

"So what's a young man like you doing in here? This isn't really the place for youngsters," he said curiously. Sai took a brief glance at the bartender. Muscled, tobacco pipe between his teeth, and a sharp eye, the bartender probably worked at the tavern almost longer than Sai had lived his second life.

"I'm looking for a bounty hunter," Sai answered truthfully. "Her name is June and she has an animal partner, a shirshu."

The bartender paused at that. "You better have a lot of coin with you, kid, she doesn't run cheap."

Sai nodded at that, but didn't say anything to the warning because he wasn't here to request a bounty hunt anyway. The older man gave Sai a hard stare, noting how though the young man visibly had nothing of significance quality, he could tell that the visitor was no ordinary person. He was far too reserved and controlled in his mannerisms to be a typical criminal. If the bartender had a guess, the young man was on an errand sent by a rich noble. A nice-looking scabbard hung from his belt, its sword maybe stolen or lost along his way here. The bartender took a second look at the scabbard.

"This is going to sound strange, but mind if I take a look at your scabbard?"

Without question, Sai unhooked the object from his belt and put it on the bar. The bartender picked it up and examined it, trying to find a maker's insignia.

Looking at the size and curvature, the bartender asked, "Is this for a katana?"

Sai sipped the rice wine, surprised at its decent quality. "You can tell?"

"You don't find scabbards for quality swords like katanas around here." After finding a mark, the bartender took the tobacco pipe out of his mouth in disbelief. "Wait a second, is this the mark of Piandao?"

Sai finished his drink. "It is, why do you ask?"

The bartender almost stumbled over his words. "He's the world's greatest swordsman, of course I'd be asking about it. How did you get this scabbard?"

"Maybe I'll answer if you help me find where June is," Sai said while scanning the rowdy crowd. All he could see were drunk men yelling at each other and gambling, no long black-haired woman in sight. He hadn't seen a shirshu outside either where all the other animals were kept, maybe he had come here for nothing.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Sai. Yours?"

"Yuan. So where'd you get this?"

Before the Sai could respond, a smooth voice interrupted. "What's all the fuss about?"

Turning around, Sai came face to face with a woman wearing makeup and red tattoos on her shoulders. "Hello, handsome, pretty scabbard you got there, where's its sword?"

Sai leaned back slightly as she was a little too close into his comfort zone. June, who he suspected her to be, smirked and dropped a silver coin onto the bar.

"Give me a tall drink and refill his, both with the stuff that I like," she ordered. Obviously familiar with her choice drink, Yuan quickly opened a different bottle and did as she said.

Sai tried to turn down her offer. "I don't need another-"

"I overheard you were looking for me."

Sai nodded. June pointed to his cup and said, "No drink, no talk."

Sai reluctantly took the cup and inwardly grimaced at the contents. Unlike rice wine, which was sweet and easy to drink, this one was hard liquor and burned when it went down the throat.

Legs crossed, June leaned an elbow against the bar. "So, what happened to the sword?"

"It's gone," Sai said tersely. "But that's not what I want to talk about, I need to ask you a favor."

June smiled. "Aw, cutting straight to business? I wanted some small talk beforehand."

Sai shrugged. "I don't have much time."

She dropped the teasing tone and asked, "You need a guy to find? It doesn't seem like you could afford it though."

He gave her a side look. "I'm not looking for someone, I have a request instead and my payment will be this." He took his black scabbard off the bar and handed it to her.

The bartender sputtered, "You can't be serious."

June took the scabbard and turned it over in her hands. "What's so special about this?"

"It's made by Master Piandao, a renowned swordsmith," Sai said. "It'll fetch a nice price in the black market."

Yuan snorted at that. Only three types of items were made by the Master Piandao: as gifts, merchandise, or owned by him. No one would sell a Piandao gift, recipients of the gifts were often close friends and high profile people. Also, the famous swordsman himself selected a handful of shops to sell his wares. They were highly expensive and not even rich merchants or nobles could purchase many, so Piandao swords and scabbards were rarely seen in any market. This was actually the closest Yuan had ever been to a Piandao object. Although Sai's scabbard wasn't exactly ornate or decorative, it still had the insignia, so the black market would be in uproar if June decided to put it up to a bid.

June asked Yuan, "Is it really that pricey?"

The bartender nodded. "The black market would have a field day."

"You must have a heavy request if you're willing to give this up," June said to Sai while holding the scabbard.

Sai bit the inside of his mouth when he looked at the scabbard. He wasn't ecstatic about giving it away. It was a precious gift from Master Piandao from when he last saw his teacher before leaving the Fire Nation Capital.

"You're soon going to come across a Fire Nation prince and his uncle during one of your bounty hunts, and the prince will ask for your services," Sai said to a bemused June. "He will ask you to track the scent of a girl from a blue necklace because he wants to find the monk who's travelling with her."

June held up a hand. "Hold on, a Fire Nation prince? A girl with a blue necklace? A monk? Are you trying to tell the future right now?"

"Are you not currently on a hunt for a runaway?" Sai asked, grasping at his former life's memories. "An older man, last seen wearing faded green clothes, black mustache, receding hairline?"

She frowned at the correct description. How did he know? "Yeah, so?"

"He'll be a stowaway at the Fire Nation prince's boat."

Yuan raised his eyebrows at Sai. "Kid, how do we know you're telling the truth?"

"I'm trading in my scabbard," he said in an obvious tone.

June drank out of her tall cup. "Hm, and what do you want me to do with all this information?"

"I want you to reject the prince's request."

"All that for a scabbard? And what if everything you just told me never happens?"

Sai hesitated. "Then...could I have my scabbard back?"

At the unprofessional words, Yuan slapped a hand against his forehead while June threw back her head and laughed.

"You don't do a lot of bartering, do you," she chuckled. "But anyway, fine, it's a deal. I'll reject this prince's offer, but if none of that stuff happens, I'll go find you and give you your scabbard back. Maybe. Yuan, you'll be a witness."

The bartender muttered some unflattering words at being unwillingly tied into a deal.

Sai gave a small smile. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

June flashed a grin. "If you're that grateful, you should buy me another drink."

Sai reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a single bronze coin. "I'm broke."

June laughed again, even harder. "Wow, you're really a charmer, you know that. Okay, fine, another round of drink is on me."

"I should get going-"

A frighteningly strong arm held Sai's shoulder down as Yuan slid another set of drinks their way. Sai sighed as June encouraged him to chug the liquor down.

After their third drink together, June's words weren't even slurred when she asked, "Oh yeah, what's your name?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

Sitting on a thick tree branch, Aang leaned against the trunk as he stared at the night sky. Aang wished Sai were with them right now.

A messenger had just arrived moments before, delivering a letter directed to Bato about the Southern Water Tribe chief's whereabouts. It didn't help that he was hiding a message behind Katara and Sokka's backs. If Sai were here, he'd know what to do. Rather, Aang knew that letting Katara and Sokka see the message was the right thing to do, it's just that Sai would have immediately forced Aang to do the right thing. Aang was holding himself back out of fear that they'd leave him to see their father. If Sai was here, then Aang wouldn't be worried about being left alone. Again.

 _Was this a behavior worthy of an Avatar?_

Sai always asked Aang this whenever the airbender faced a dilemma. What was the responsibility of the Avatar? What did the Avatar stand for to the people? How was he to achieve peace between the spirit and physical world, or even between people? Personally, Aang had never truly enjoyed those types of conversations back at his air temple. He was still young, not quite even thirteen years old, and he already had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The thought that the Hundred Years War had been raging while he was trapped in an iceberg was enough to make him feel queasy.

Aang let out a small sigh as he pulled out the scroll from his tunic. He missed his mentor, Gyatso, who had been a father-like figure for most of his early years. If he could have the chance to meet him, even it were just for a short while, Aang would have seized the opportunity. The airbender was sure Katara and Sokka felt the same way for their father. Hands shaking slightly as he gripped the scroll, Aang hopped down from the tree and walked to Bato's tent, where he could the Water Tribe siblings laughing at Bato's stories.

"Aang! Where'd you go?" Katara asked while trying to suppress a laugh.

Aang looked down to the floor, afraid, and his voice was unsure. "A messenger came by, it's from your father."

He only hoped that Katara and Sokka won't abandon him. And if they did, perhaps this would still be better than meeting Sai's disappointed eyes later.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Oi."

The hooded figure in front of Sai flinched.

Sai raised an eyebrow at how the stranger tightened the hood over his head. "I'm looking for someone, an ex-admiral of the Fire Nation."

The hooded middle-aged man eyed Sai suspiciously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sai inwardly wished he had another lotus tile on him to make the situation easier. If he had an extra tile, he could ask the man to give it to Jeong Jeong and the firebending master would instantly recognize its meaning.

He sighed. "Fine, whatever, just tell your master this: there's a lotus blossom waiting to bloom."

The man grumbled and trotted away from the older teenager, but kept a mental note to relay the strange words to his master. Master Jeong Jeong had connections everywhere, so maybe this young man actually had something to say.

Sai watched the stranger disappear into the lively crowd. This Fire Nation town was getting ready for a festival, so the atmosphere was more bright than usual. The townspeople were setting up booths and decorating their shops while performing troupes walked around, advertising their shows for the upcoming festival.

Based on Sai's memories, the man who led Aang and his friends to Jeong Jeong seemed more easy going than the person he had just talked to. Perhaps that was because he knew it was the Avatar. Sai only recognized this man's face, named Chey, because he was the second person to leave the Fire Nation army without official permission and live, the first being Jeong Jeong. Former Fire Nation captain Chey was an accomplished pyrotechnic and had established a military interest in explosives after his career in the army, unfortunately for the villages of the Earth Kingdom. Sai had read the ex-captain's techniques and formulas for his bombs, and the man had used chemical compounds ahead of his time.

As Sai contemplated what he should do next, a strong arm roped around his neck.

"June, I can't breathe," he said.

"What'cha doing?" She asked in a sing-song voice. "Doing another secret mission?"

Sai removed her arm. "It's none of your concern. Why are you here? How did you find me?"

The infamous bounty hunter flipped her dark hair over a shoulder. "I followed you, we used your scent from the scabbard," she said as if it was obvious. She was tracker, of course she could track him. "It's about our deal."

The ex-soldier frowned. It had been three days since they had met at the tavern. If she was here, did that mean he miscalculated? Did she not meet Zuko? June was about to speak when two Fire Nation soldiers walked past them.

"Follow me, this talk isn't meant for the streets," she said. After a second of conflict, Sai grudgingly followed her into the alleyway, away from the bustling main street of the town.

He asked out of simple curiousity, "Where's your shirshu?"

"I let him go in the outskirts of the town, roaming around the forest. These people would freak out if they saw a shirshu for the first time," she answered. Taking a sharp turn left, they walked into a courtyard that was undoubtedly the more unfavorable part of town. Thugs and scruffy-looking people scowled at the two when they entered. Sai made a face when he realized that June had taken them to the red-light district. June dragged Sai into a dimly lit building that had red lanterns hanging at the entrance, and ignoring the ex-soldier's protests, she paid for a private room at the brothel.

"I met the Fire Nation prince two days ago and it was exactly as you said," she said in a low voice. Sai held up a hand to stop her.

"I understand that you wanted a secure place to talk, but did we really have to come here?" Sai leaned away from one lady who sitting much too close. Her loose robe revealed cleavage and skin that he knew was supposed to be enticing, but her perfume was so strong that he resisted the urge to cover his nose. June grinned at his discomfort while flirting with one girl who was hugging the tracker's arm. Female or male, if they were beautiful, June didn't care about gender.

"Aren't you happy being surrounded by these beauties?" Their escorts giggled. Sai tried to avoid looking down.

"You sure this place is safe?"

June snuggled one pretty girl under an arm. "Of course it is, these girls know how to keep secrets, don't you, cuties?"

The girls chorused, "Of course!"

The petite brunette at Sai's side sidled closer, saying, "We're _really_ good at keeping secrets." She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Just hurry up and finish what you were going to say," he said tiredly.

"Tsk, tsk, so impatient, can't we enjoy simple pleasures?" At Sai's exasperated glare, June continued talking. "Okay fine, the prince tried to pay me to track down a girl with a blue necklace because he wanted to find the monk travelling with her, he wasn't very nice about it."

At Sai's questing look, she continued, "I didn't take their assignment, though it was tempting. They were going to pay me a lot of gold, in equal weight of the fat old man who was with the prince."

Inwardly, the ex-soldier twitched at the condescending remark about the former high general.

"That brat prince has some serious anger issues though. He didn't take my refusal very well and if it weren't for that old man, he would've burned down the tavern," June remarked, miffed at the memory. She disliked troublesome people who made a big deal over little matters.

Sai tilted his head, confused at one glaring detail. "Then why did you find me? You did what I asked of you. Why are you here?"

June leaned back, crossing her legs. "You seem very nonchalant for someone who just lost a precious item."

The comment stung a little. "What do you want, June?"

June pulled out his black scabbard, or rather, it was hers now due to their deal. "I asked an appraiser I know about your black scabbard, and it seems like if I sold it, I would be set for life. So I got curious, why did you have something like this, and who are you?"

At the intrusive questions, Sai stayed silent and flicked his eyes away. June raised an eyebrow at the sudden retreat. Perhaps he had a rough past and she unintentionally made him bring up some unpleasant memories? Anyway, she wasn't exactly here to force answers out of him.

"Nevermind, whatever, I just want to give you your scabbard back, under one condition," she said to his surprised face. "Whoever you are, I know you got money. You might not have coins with you right now, but you definitely have a rich background. I'll give this back to you if you promise me some gold later."

"You'll already get all the gold you want if you just sell it," Sai said warily. "Why are you giving it back to me?"

"Because that means you'll owe me," June said simply. "And I have a feeling that you'll be able to cough up something more than just gold."

Part of what made June the best out of all the bounty hunter trackers was that she was a schemer. If you were going to be in this line of business, you had to be a schemer in one way or another. She had a hunch that the guy sitting in front of her was someone big, and her hunches had always proven her right. June was willing to make a wager for something better in the future.

"Take it," she said with a tone of finality, holding out the scabbard. Sai took from her, almost reverently. He trailed his hands down the lacquered black wood, examining it for any scratches or bumps that could have occurred during their brief separation.

"Thank you," Sai spoke quietly. "I guess I do owe you one."

June snapped her fingers at him. "Now, give me something of yours so that I could track you when I want to."

Sai hesitated at that. Giving a personal item to a bounty hunter wasn't always recommended. June would be able to find him anytime, anywhere if he complied with her demand. However, if he could keep his scabbard, he guessed he would have to deal with it. He didn't want to part with his teacher's gift again.

"Do you have a blade, or a sharp edge?" He asked her. The tracker pulled out a small dagger and handed it to him. Using the pointed tip, Sai slashed the hem of his tunic and ripped out a strip of cloth. He returned the dagger along with the piece of cloth that had his scent marked on it. With that last part of the business done, Sai stood up, tying the scabbard back to his belt, grateful for the familiar weight at his hips. "I'll be going now."

June did a mock salute. "See 'ya."

He left the room, and the brunette girl that had been at his side did a small pout. "Aw, he was so good-looking."

June sweetly smiled at the girl. "He was, wasn't he?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

It only took one day for Sai to receive a response from Jeong Jeong. Sai had spent the night at a local inn, paying by offering grunt labor the evening before. For the next hours left in the morning, he purposely spent his time in visible sight near the open market. It was nearing noon when Chey found him, begrudgingly asking Sai to follow him into the nearby forest. There, they encountered a small group of tribespeople, their leader named Lin Yee, who led them into a clearing hidden deep inside the forest. It was a small settling, with one large tent secluded from the rest and directly next to a river.

During their entire way there, Chey chattered nonstop about his master, Jeong Jeong, and the legends circulating around the firebender. Jeong Jeong was a legend indeed. From a very young age, the firebending master had been recognized as fire prodigy and prided as one of the best firebenders of the Fire Nation in all of history. While almost all firebenders trained to produce and enhance the magnitude of their fire, Jeong was the opposite. From birth, Jeong Jeong had an inconceivable aptitude of collecting the heat around him and never had trouble producing fire. Although his flames didn't burn the searing temperatures to reach the pale colors of blue and white, his core burned with the essence of fire and therefore, instead of training to summon fire, he had to meditate daily in order to suppress it.

Jeong Jeong had quickly climbed ranks in the Fire Nation navy, becoming an admiral in record time and served many years in the army. However, Jeong Jeong was a level-headed prodigy and became disillusioned from the war and the destruction he had contributed as a soldier and left the army. Instead of asking to leave, his open renunciation from the military was seen as one of the highest forms of treason in the nation. The Fire Nation poured efforts into capturing him since he was considered a threat to the Fire Nation security, but he was never found for decades.

Soldiers leaving the military was not an uncommon experience. The method of leaving, however, was important. Only the Fire Nation army could allow one to leave without trouble. Sai's former sword teacher, Master Piandao, had also left the Fire Nation army out of similar reasons like Jeong Jeong. The Fire Nation had also tried to capture Piandao, however the swordmaster successfully rebuffed every attempt and made to moves to indicate that he was threatening the safety of the Fire Nation. Piandao even lived on Fire Nation land and openly contributed to the nation's culture, so the military finally decided to leave him alone and keep him on surveillance instead.

Another difference between Piandao and Jeong Jeong was that the latter was not meant to be a teacher. Sai knew that while Jeong Jeong was wise and knowledgeable, it did not mean that he could also teach a student to the right path. He wasn't the right choice as a firebending teacher. Aang hadn't even mastered water or earth, and it was important that the Avatar follow the natural order of the elements. While Sai would prefer not wasting time and meet with Aang and the Water Tribe siblings to directly head to the Northern Water Tribe, there were still important lessons and skills to be learned by meeting Jeong Jeong. He didn't wish harm for Katara, nor did he want Aang to suffer the guilt of hurting a friend. But meeting Jeong Jeong and allowing Aang to make mistakes was how Katara discovered her water healing abilities and Aang to respect fire. Right now, Aang only saw bending as a gift or a talent and didn't truly understand the consequences of being responsible for mastering all four elements. He wasn't taking the elements itself seriously. Sai would also have to make sure to talk to Aang about how each element, on their own, had their own negative and positive qualities. It is only because in this era, with the Fire Nation imperialism, that fire is considered as something evil.

From the way fire had been used the last hundred years, it was not surprising for people to fear firebending, Sai thought.

At Chey's beckoning, Sai entered the large tent alone. The firebending master was facing away, meditating and surrounded by a number of lit candles.

A gruff voice spoke up. "There's a lotus blossom waiting to bloom, you say?"

Although Jeong Jeong might not see it, Sai bowed before taking a seat, legs crossed. "Yes. I studied under a Grand Lotus, and was formally introduced when I turned fifteen years old."

The firebender made a disparaging sound. "I have heard of you. Fifteen years old? You were too young, and you are still too young now."

Sai understood what Jeong Jeong meant. There were many who had objected a lot of what Sai did due to his age.

"I came here to tell you that I am travelling with the Avatar, an air nomad. He will probably-"

"No."

"Sir?"

"No, I do not wish to see the Avatar. I will not see him."

Sai bit the inside of his cheek. Well that was straightforward. "Sir, please listen to what I have to say. The Avatar is young, and he hasn't even mastered water or earth, but I believe there is a reason that he's coming here to meet you."

Irritated, Jeong Jeong finally turned around to face Sai. His scarred tan face was harsh and intimidating, but Sai didn't back down.

"Were you not listening? I said no, I will not see him!"

Sai knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with the firebending master. He also knew that it wouldn't be hard for fate to naturally play it out, so he didn't worry about Jeong Jeong's refusal to meet Aang. Instead of arguing further, Sai bowed and backed out of the tent.

Walking out, he crossed paths with Chey, who anxiously asked him about what happened.

"Chey, I need a favor," Sai began. The ex-captain's face grew excited as Sai rambled about the Avatar coming here, looking for masters to teach him the elements.

"Master Jeong Jeong would be the perfect teacher!" Chey exclaimed. Inwardly, Sai strongly disagreed, but lightly smiled to seemingly agree with Chey's words.

"They will be arriving in town tomorrow, just in time for the town festival. Do you think you could find him? The Avatar will be a young boy, wearing light colored clothes while his two companions will be wearing blue robes," Sai described.

"I'll find them," Chey promised. "And I'll bring them here."

Wryly, Sai thought that everything was coming along a bit too perfectly so far. He only hoped that Aang, Sokka, and Katara had encountered no problems during their time apart.

* * *

oOo

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: I want to say thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! Hope you guys enjoyed! Reviews are really what keeps me going, so please tell me what you thought of the chapter! Special thanks to **Rosezelene Ersa, IceAurora, Guests** (you guys know who you are) **, 4everfictional, RandomCitizen, Pokefanljb, oikawatooruu, sigh, Missanonne, de junco, Naroku, Master of Red Windex, Rainsfere, Crosslyn, NatNicole, Mattgenesis, MrKeyFox.** Your reviews really pulled this chapter out, so kudos to you guys!

People have been asking and no, Sai is not a bender, nor will there be some sort of plot twist where he'll magically begin bending later into the story. He wasn't born a bender.

Also, don't worry about romance yet.


	7. Water : The Deserter :: Burned

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water: The Deserter :: Burned

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Sai!"

The ex-soldier turned around and smiled when three familiar faces greeted him inside the guest hut.

"Oof," he grunted when the Water Tribe siblings and airbender tackled him into a hug. "Nice to see you guys safe."

Sokka scoffed, "Safe? We were barely safe until about an hour ago."

Sai raised a brow at his unhappy tone while Katara explained, "We went to the fire festival in the nearby town and got chased by soldiers when they found out that Aang's the Avatar. Chey brought us here."

"I'm not mad because we got chased out, I'm mad because no one has been listening to me!" Sokka lamented. "I said it was a bad idea to go the festival and now I said it again when we got caught by this natives."

Sai patted Sokka's shoulder to appease him. "So where's Chey right now?"

The younger three exchanged uneasy glances.

"The native tribe leader said that Jeong Jeong will only meet Chey first," Aang said uncomfortably. "Now we're waiting to see what happens next."

"Okay, we could catch up with each other while we're waiting," Sai suggested. Immediately, Katara launched into an excited story about meeting an old friend of theirs from the Southern Water Tribe, a warrior named Bato who had been left behind from their father's fleet due to an injury. At the mention of Bato, Sai nearly slapped a hand to his forehead. He had completely forgotten about the dispute between Aang and the Water Tribe siblings over a letter from their father. Forcing himself to listen instead of interrupting, Sai unclenched his tight fists and arranged an interested expression on his face.

He kept his voice purposefully light. "Really? So what happened?"

"Oh! Oh! He took us ice dodging! It was awesome!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Ice dodging is a coming-of-age ritual in the Water Tribe," Katara explained to Sai's quizzical face. "Except, since there's no ice in the waters of the Earth Kingdom, we used Bato's boat to dodge rocks instead."

"Wow," Sai said appreciatively. "I wish I could have been there, it sounds like a lot of fun. Anything else that happened?"

"We also got a message from my dad, giving Bato his rendezvouz location," Sokka added softly. "Aang was the one to receive it, and he showed it to us right away."

Sai sent a surprised glance at the young airbender, who was self-consciously looking down at his hands.

"Did you meet with your father? You two haven't seen him for a long time, right?" Sai asked.

Katara shook her head and smiled at her brother. "We wanted to, but it wasn't along the way and we knew that sticking with Aang is the right choice."

At the corner of his eye, Sai noticed Aang's ears turning red at the show of loyalty from his friends. In fact, the strong friendship between them made Sai's heart grow warm and he couldn't help himself, the older teenager wrapped his arms around the three youngsters for the second hug in less than ten minutes.

"Sai? Are you feeling okay?" Sokka questioned. They all knew that Sai wasn't one to constantly initiate physical contact, even less so than Sokka. After one tight squeeze, Sai released them and gave each one a pat on their heads.

"You guys did well without me," he said kindly to their embarrassed faces. Aang, Sokka, and Katara bashfully smiled at the ex-soldiers warm praise. They had felt a little lost the first day without their older group member, so it was nice to be given approval after a week without him.

"What about you? What did you do while we were separated?" Aang asked. The encounters with June flashed across Sai's mind and he decided that he wouldn't talk about the bounty hunter. It'd be too complicated to explain why he had to out-bribe the Fire Nation prince for the hunter's favor without mentioning how he knew Prince Zuko was going to pay for her skills.

"Mm, wandered around towns asking about Fire Nation activity and then came here, looking for Jeong Jeong," Sai said vaguely.

"You know Jeong Jeong?" The airbender excitedly said. "How?"

"He's called 'The Deserter', a legend in the Fire Nation army," Sai explained. "The first to openly abandon the military and survive."

"Really? I thought that guy, Chey, was just making up things," Sokka said doubtfully. "That guy seems like a fanatic."

Sai shook his head. "True, Chey may be a fanatic, but Jeong Jeong is an actual firebending legend, a famous prodigy. He gained the rank of the Admiral for the Fire Nation Navy before leaving."

"Woah," Aang breathed, awestruck at what the ex-soldier recounted. "I've definitely got to learn firebending from him."

"Even though you haven't mastered water or earth?"

The pointed question made the Avatar frown. "You're right, but when will I ever find a firebender willing to teach me at this time? This might be my only chance."

Sai rubbed his chin and looked away. Aang's worry was not without fault, but the fact that he insisted on ignoring the natural order of learning the elements also proved that the airbender was not taking the way of the Avatar seriously. Avatars learned how to bend the elements in a sequential order for a reason, otherwise they wouldn't have insisted doing it that way for the past thousands of years.

"I don't think Jeong Jeong is the right firebending teacher for you, Aang," Sai said in a contemplative tone.

"But, I'm not going to stop you to try," he added before Aang could protest.

"Really? Yes!" The airbender cheered. Aang had been slightly fearful that Sai would have completely disagreed and forced them to leave the place; he hadn't been looking forward to arguing with the ex-soldier.

"Still, I'm going to warn you. There's a reason why the Avatars learn the elements in the natural order that they do, so we're not going to expect you to be a firebending master in two weeks' time. Firebending, or any bending for that matter, isn't something you just pick up like a toy from a store. You better take Jeong Jeong's teachings seriously, got it?"

At Sai's stern voice, Aang meekly nodded. "Got it."

Sokka whistled from the sideline. "Wow, that's a level of mothering that even Katara doesn't do."

Katara scowled at her brother though he did have a point. She could fuss over any of them, even Sai, when it came to managing their food, blankets, tents, and money, but she didn't know exactly what to say to Aang when it came to matters concerning the Avatar. She could give him advice on how to approach matters as what the Avatar should do, but she didn't precisely know how to mentor Aang to become the Avatar. With Sai around, Aang was given more guidance as to what the Avatar should know other than simply resolving disputes and learning to bend the four elements.

Katara couldn't help but wonder about Sai's previous comments, saying, "What did you mean when you said that Jeong Jeong isn't the right teacher for Aang?"

Sokka and Aang, intrigued by the question, also curiously looked at the older teenager.

"Jeong Jeong left the army because he saw the destruction of what fire could incur upon all types of living beings," Sai began. Aang's face noticeably fell when the statement incited the memory of his barren home, the Southern Air Temple, and the reason for its destruction and lack of humans. Katara and Sokka also grew silent, remembering their own painful memories of firebenders and the loss of their mother.

Despite the unwanted surfacing of memories he was causing, Sai continued, "Chey said that the master was disillusioned from the war, but I personally think that Jeong Jeong was disillusioned from what fire truly represents as an element. He thinks that fire is something that should be contained and kept controlled, otherwise it will only rage and only harm its surroundings, and his thinking is shared with a lot of world, understandably from the Hundred Years' War."

"You think it means something else?" Aang asked quietly.

Sai ran a finger over his scabbard's insignia. "I do."

"Well?" Katara nodded her head towards the airbender. "Aren't you going to tell us?"

"I could." Sai grinned at the groans of the younger three. "But that would only be my personal definition. The Avatar would have to search for his own meaning of fire, without someone else defining it for him."

"But...isn't fire, just fire?" Aang weakly inquired. "I mean, if I don't put a meaning to it, it wouldn't affect my bending, would it? The same goes for all of the other elements, if I don't hold meaning to them, it won't bias the way how I think of each one?"

The airbender almost flinched when Sai levelled a disappointed gaze upon him.

"It seems like you'll only learn through experiences," the swordsman managed to say, trying to keep the dissatisfaction out of his tone. The little monk wouldn't truly understand what Sai meant until he experienced it himself; Aang was still young.

Aang was going to ask what he meant by that when Chey returned from Jeong Jeong's hut, looking dispirited.

"What happened? Can I see Jeong Jeong now?" Aang eagerly asked.

"He won't see you," Chey said in a discouraged voice. "He's very angry that I brought you here, he wants you to leave immediately."

Sokka perked up. "Finally! Let's hit the road."

"But before you guys leave, he wants to see your friend." Chey pointed a thumb across a crestfallen Aang to Sai. Sokka groaned, flopping to the ground, while the ex-soldier got up without question.

Lifting the flap of the master's tent, Sai sat down facing Jeong Jeong's back.

The firebender's tone was dangerously verging on explosion. "I had told you that I would not see the Avatar."

Sai didn't blink. "I know."

"Then why did you bring him here?"

"I was not the one who brought him here, Chey did."

Jeong Jeong turned around and nearly shouted, infuriated. "I know you have a part in this! Do not even try to lie to me, boy, you know exactly what you are doing."

Sai's amber eyes unflinching stared back at Jeong Jeong's harsh ones and he didn't say anything.

"Leave me," the old firebender grumbled. The swordsman respectfully bowed before exiting and bumped into Aang along the way back to the guest hut.

"I'm going to see him," the airbender announced determinedly as he walked past Sai. "I need to learn firebending."

* * *

oOo

* * *

Firebending training was not going well.

So far, all Jeong Jeong had told Aang was to breathe and meditate. To feel the sun's energy. To feel the heat surrounding him. To breathe.

Aang stared at the vast sky, his body aching from holding the wide horse stance for so long. What was the point of coming up on the top of this mountain just for meditating? He was a monk, of course he knew how to meditate! He wasn't discounting the importance of it, but wasn't it obvious to Jeong Jeong that he could handle a little more than simple meditating? Frustrated by the seemingly lack of any sort of progress, Aang huffed aloud and straightened his legs from the squatting pose.

Maybe Sai was right, Aang contemplated as he airbended his way down the rocky mountain. Maybe Jeong Jeong wasn't the right teacher for him.

At that depressing thought, Aang headed for the firebender's tent, intending to say that he would stop receiving lessons from him.

"Back already from meditating?" Sai asked behind him. The older teenager was in the middle of doing katas, slightly sweaty from the physical activity. Katara was at a distance, practicing waterbending.

"I've been at it for hours," Aang grouched. "I think I'm going to tell Jeong Jeong that maybe this isn't a good idea."

The swordsman tilted his head. "Why?" The monk hadn't seemed so keen on listening to either Sai or Jeong Jeong the day before, so why the change of mind now?

The young Avatar shrugged. "I don't know, I guess you were right that Jeong Jeong isn't the right teacher for me. And besides, it's been more than six hours of just breathing meditations and he won't even teach me how to spark a flame."

"You know that bending is more than learning how to 'spark a flame'," Sai chided gently.

Aang pulled a long face and complained, "I know, I know, but how much more breathing do I have to do before I learn how to shoot flames out of my fingertips?"

As quickly as the whine left his mouth, the airbender regretted them when he saw Sai's face of disapproval.

"Maybe Jeong Jeong will teach you how to shoot 'flames out of your fingertips' if you ask him nicely," the ex-soldier said almost sardonically. "It could be that firebending is actually that simple."

Aang gulped as the older teenager turned away and resumed his katas. He should probably stop talking about bending so flippantly around Sai from now on. The airbender entered Jeong Jeong's hut, hoping for the best.

"What are you doing here?" The firebender asked roughly. "I told you to meditate and breathe."

"I have, for hours now, and I know that I've pushed on you to teach me firebending," Aang countered. "May I please ask you for the next step on firebending? Even if it's the smallest, tiniest step, could you teach me?"

There was a short pause from Jeong Jeong, making Aang think that his effort was for nothing when the old man spoke up.

"Yes. I will show you the next step."

"Oh yeah!" Aang exclaimed and did a fist pump into the air. "I-I mean, thank you, Master Jeong Jeong."

Following the firebender out of the tent, Aang shot a triumphant smile to Sai, who returned it with a half-hearted one. The ex-soldier, joined by Katara, watched the old master begin his next lesson with Aang.

Catching a dancing leaf with his forefinger and thumb, Jeong Jeong burned a hole into its middle, instructing, "Concentrate on the fire, keep the flames from reaching the edges of this leaf for as long as you can."

The monk wanted to groan for the umpteenth time today when he remembered that Sai was watching and wouldn't be pleased by his constant grumbling. He was going to ask for a different lesson when the native tribe leader ran to Jeong Jeong.

"Master! There is trouble," he said hurriedly. Immediately, the firebender followed the chief into the forest, ordering the Avatar to focus on the leaf.

This time, Aang allowed a groan and almost defiantly complained to an unamused Sai.

"This is the worst firebending instruction, ever," he said unhappily.

"You wanted this," Sai pointed out. He would have added another comment about taking the lesson more seriously, but he was concerned about the trouble the native tribe chief had announced. If he remembered correctly, wasn't Admiral Zhao the former pupil of Jeong Jeong? Could the Admiral be searching for the Avatar right now?

Katara said comfortingly, "I'm sure there's a good reason."

"But I'm ready to do so much more," Aang said in a glum voice.

"Prove it to him," Sai suggested. The bald monk muttered some more words before grudgingly concentrating on the task Jeong Jeong had given him.

Quite honestly, Sai couldn't blame Aang for his impatience either, though the grousing was growing to be a little troublesome. Jeong Jeong was approaching fire in an entirely unbeneficial way for the young Avatar; the old master was too occupied with the horrors from the Hundred Years' War that it tainted his view of the fiery element. The firebender was also too cautious, guilt-ridden by how he had failed to raise a proper student out of Zhao.

"Hey, hey! Sai! Katara! Look I did it, I made fire!" Aang said proudly. Sai sharply flicked his eyes to the small burning flame floating above the airbender's hands.

"Aang, that's great! But you should take it slow." Sai noticed the unease in Katara's expression as she said this.

"Katara's right, Aang," Sai backed her. "Take it easy, Jeong Jeong isn't around to supervise."

Too absorbed into the flames, the thrilled Avatar allowed the fire to grow larger. "When is he ever around to supervise anyway?"

"Aang," the swordsman bit out. "Careful."

Sai almost grew fearful at the lack of caution Aang was exhibiting as he threw the flame around like a juggling ball and played tricks with it.

"I wonder how that juggler did it?" The airbender wondered aloud.

Sai only had a fraction of a second to think, what juggler? And then saw Aang spread his arms and expand the fire into a flaming ring around him, without even controlling its distance. Fright seized Sai's muscles and the ex-soldier launched himself over Katara next to him, bringing her to the ground. Katara shouted in fright from the fire's heat and Sai bit down a yell at the scalding sensation that seared across the right side of his upper back.

The two hit the ground with a thud, but only Katara got up. Sai felt like a hot metal knife had pressed into his back and shoulders.

"Sai! Are you alright?" Katara asked, terrified by the fresh burns. The scorched skin was bleeding, the outer layer peeled, and it looked like an angry red color had spread all over. She tried to help him up, but winced when she discovered a spray of new blisters across her palms. If Sai hadn't pushed her to the ground a millisecond earlier, she would have been covered with the terrible burns instead.

"Sai, I'm so, so sorry," Aang cried out, guilt intensifying within him. He thought it was harmless playing with fire, he hadn't meant to burn them.

Sokka, hearing his sister's yell, ran over and gasped at the scorched skin on Sai. For all of his easy-going jokes and nonsensical attitude, Sokka could put two and two together without hearing a word of what happened.

Not wanting to assume the worst, Sokka barked, "What did you do?"

"I-it was an accident, I-I was just, the jug-, Sai, Katara, I'm so sorry," Aang stammered helplessly. Sokka growled, figuring that it was the airbender's doing, and was about to grab Aang's collar when Sai spoke up.

"Sokka, stop," he said, his voice tight with pain.

"But he played with _fire_ ," Sokka said angrily. "And it burned you and my sister!"

Sai let out a hiss of discomfort when he rolled over and sat himself up. "And he learned that it was wrong, the hard way."

Aang flinched at that.

Trying to fight the throbbing pain, Sai blinked the tears out of his eyes and ordered, "Aang, stay right there and don't move, Sokka, help me get up. Katara and I need to treat our burns with water."

They all did as he said, Aang shamefully slinked off to the side and watched as Sokka supported the uninjured side of Sai and guided him to the river, followed by Katara.

"I'll waterbend the water to your burns first," Katara offered softly. She dipped her hands into the clear river, sighing at the cool relief, and pooled water out and over to where Sai sat next to her, back turned. Sokka looked on worriedly as his sister covered the painful burns on the upper back and right shoulder, willing the water to gently treat the skin. Suddenly, the water glowed into a pale blue as she did so. Though it was her first time seeing it happen, Katara couldn't help but feel that it was a good sign and allowed the water to stay in contact with Sai's skin until it appeared that the bright red had disappeared. She loosened her hold on the water, revealing smooth skin to her utter amazement.

Sokka squeaked, "What?"

Katara glanced down to her hands and even found her own small burns and blisters gone as well. She was too shocked and surprised to form words. At the sudden quietness, Sai experimentally rolled his right shoulder and carefully reached over to touch where the burn had been on his back.

"It's gone?" He asked tentatively.

Jeong Jeong walked out of the forest, having seen the entire thing, and said in an awed tone, "You have healing abilities. Great waterbenders of the Water Tribe sometimes have this ability. I've always wished I were blessed like you, free from this burning curse."

As the firebending master said this last part, he studied Sai's now healed back and Aang's guilt-ridden face several paces away.

"You must leave," Jeong Jeong said, leaving no room for question. "The Fire Nation have come, searching for the Avatar and for me. Leave now, and do not come back."

Katara and Sokka immediately got up to retrieve their their things from the guest hut, taking Aang with them. Sai pushed against his trembling knees to get himself standing, the memory of burning skin and pain still fresh on his mind.

"You are manipulating them," Jeong Jeong said to him in a low voice. Sai wasn't sure if the firebending master was disapproving or simply stating an observance. Jeong Jeong was a difficult man to understand in some ways, especially when it came to his thoughts behind his words and actions.

Sai hummed lightly before answering slowly, "It's necessary."

The old master made a 'tsk' sound. "The Avatar has developed a fear of fire."

"Katara happened to discover her healing abilities."

Jeong Jeong nodded, but countered, "However, at what cost?"

"The Avatar will overcome that fear when it's truly time for him to learn firebending," Sai reasoned. "Right now was not that time, and you knew it too, yet you still agreed to teach him."

The firebending master grumbled a little at that, though he didn't protest because the swordsman was right. Avatar Roku had appeared in front of him, how was he supposed to argue against the previous Avatar?

"When the Grand Lotus introduced you to the organization, I did not expect the newcomer to be so young, and so scheming," Jeong Jeong muttered. "You are playing with fire, boy, if you think you could manipulate them like so."

Sai let out a dry laugh at the pun. "That is exactly why I got burned just now, isn't it?"

The firebender looked at the swordsman's back with a grimace before turning away into the forest, presumably to distract the incoming Fire Nation. With the silent dismissal, Sai went over to Appa and helped the Water Siblings load their sleeping bags onto the flying bison's saddle.

Seeing one airbender absent, he asked, "Where's Aang?"

"He went to help Jeong Jeong," Sokka said as he climbed onto Appa. Sai helped Katara climb onto the bison before hoisting himself up, taking the reins. The weeks of the travel with them allowed Sai to learn how to guide the flying bison. Before taking off, the swordsman whistled loudly as a call signal for their flying lemur and no later than a few seconds, Momo flew out of the dark forest, perching on Sai's shoulder.

"Yip, yip," he told Appa and the bison launched itself into the air. As they passed over the small tribe camp, they noticed how all of the natives had disappeared, most likely to have abandoned their home when the Fire Nation were spotted.

Sai held the reins where a fire could be seen burning at a short distance, a firebender and airbender exchanging blows, Jeong Jeong nowhere in sight. Or rather, it was only the firebender throwing flames and Aang dodging every single one, cunningly allowing the fire the burn down the Fire Nation river boats. Keeping their distance, Sai refrained from flying too close to the ground and also tried to cover his face when he recognized that it was Admiral Zhao who Aang was confronting. When it was clear that Zhao had destroyed his own ships, Aang sped away from the river, hopping up the tree branches in the forest, and airbended himself up to Appa's saddle. Sai and the Water Tribe siblings watched Zhao's infuriated tantrum, yelling with anger, and inciting the flames to burn hotter.

Zhao had always been known for his short temperament, Sai thought. It was one reason why he didn't quickly climb ranks in the Fire Nation Army, which was the reason for him switching to the Navy, in hopes for faster promotions.

With Aang safe, Sai turned Appa north, for their intended destination, the Northern Water Tribe.

"Sai, Katara, I want to say I'm sorry."

The ex-soldier turned around and carefully made his way to the saddle, joining the Water Tribe siblings and Aang in the loose circle.

"Jeong Jeong said that I wasn't ready and he was right. I wasn't." Aang looked down at his hands as he continued. "And I wasn't careful when I began firebending, so I got you two hurt and I'm sorry for that."

Sai and Katara looked at each other before saying together, "It's okay."

Katara noticed a small burn on Aang's arm and pulled out her water pouch. "Here, let me heal you."

Like before, the water glowed a pale blue until the injury vanished to the airbender's wonder.

"Wow, that's neat," he said cheerfully. Sokka then jumped in, recalling past years when he had gotten hurt and couldn't have his sister's waterbending healing abilities help him at that time. The mood of the group easily returned to its former light-hearted banter with Sokka's jokes, but Sai's mind wandered off as he absentmindedly stared at Katara's water pouch.

What had he been thinking? The oozing blood, the angry pink and red peeling skin on his shoulder and the blisters on Katara's palm flashed before his eyes. Why did he think that it was okay to allow Katara to get burned like he had gotten burned? How could he have justified it for discovering her healing abilities? Thinking back to June, avoiding Zuko's hunt, and having Chey bring Aang and the others to Jeong Jeong, Sai lifted a hand and covered his eyes. He was abusing his past memories, acting as though he were a puppeteer and could control people and what happened in this world; it was an arrogant mindset to have. It was like he was placing himself like a god.

"Sai?"

The swordsman shook himself out of his mental self-scolding and saw Katara's outstretched hand.

"I can mend your shirt and Aang's, they need some fixing," she said kindly, holding out spare pieces of fabrics, a needle, and thread. Along with the airbender, Sai pulled off his outer and lower layer tops since both had gotten burned away and then wrapped himself with his sleeping bag since it was too cold to be sitting topless on top of a flying bison.

Sokka sat next to the swordsman, holding up his shears. "You've got the ends of your hair singed," he pointed out.

Sai's fingers pulled up the tail end of his tied hair and found that the Water Tribe boy was right, the ends were almost crumbling. Sai chuckled as he heard the gentle snipping of hair being cut. Between Katara fixing his shirt and Sokka fixing his hair, the ex-soldier didn't feel like he was the oldest among them.

"I feel like a little child right now," he chuckled lightly.

A few hours of flying later, Katara and Sokka were fast asleep with Sai and Aang awake and talking about that day's chaotic events.

"I don't want to ever firebend again," the airbender confessed. "I can't hurt anymore people."

"You're the Avatar, you're going to," Sai countered.

"You said that you didn't think Jeong Jeong was the right teacher for me, why?"

"A variety of reasons," the ex-soldier sighed. "Though I didn't expect him to be _that_ bad of a teacher."

Aang tilted his head. Jeong Jeong had been strict and a little boring as a teacher, but surely he wasn't bad. "What do you mean?"

"You may not fully realize it now, but when a bender teaches you an element, they're not only teaching you 'tricks', but also about the element itself. This is something you haven't exactly drilled into your head."

Aang's mouth downturned at that, aware of how Sai had been trying to emphasize this point to him the past day.

"Do you remember about what I said of how Jeong Jeong viewed fire?" The Avatar nodded, recalling the pessimistic perception of the fiery element.

"Do you want to accept that kind of viewpoint? That fire only represent destruction, pain, and suffering?"

The airbender thought about Sai's challenge. To him, and to Katara and Sokka, fire had only brought nothing but bad things in their lives. It had taken away precious people, homes, and families, it had wiped out his people. What else did fire do other than cause pain and suffering? Was fire capable of symbolizing something else?

"I...don't want to," he said carefully. "There has to be more than that."

Sai smiled at that. "You're going to have to find bending teachers who aren't caught up with the Hundred Years' War, teachers who haven't allowed the war to define what the elements are capable of."

Aang was quiet for a second before asking, "Sai, how come you know so much about bending?"

"I had a good mentor in the army who could firebend," he answered before turning away.

The conversation with Sai made Aang think deeply for the rest of the night. It seemed that there were more aspects of bending the elements than he needed to understand as the Avatar. The monk was grateful for Sai's forgiving and patient nature, especially for today. Sai's army mentor must have been a really wise person for Sai to pick on so much stuff about bending. Maybe that firebender could be his teacher later, when the time came for Aang to learn firebending.

* * *

oOo

* * *

I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Also, Sai is seventeen years old at the beginning of the story.


	8. Water : The Northern Air Temple :: Short

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book of Water : The Northern Air Temple :: Short

* * *

oOo

* * *

 _"-it might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity-and those bound to the earth by it!"_

"Sai! Sai!"

Sai felt fervent hands shaking him awake. The oldest member of the group groaned as he rolled over, disrupted from his sleep in Appa's saddle.

"Is the storyteller done?" Sai murmured while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He squinted upwards at Aang's excited face.

"We're going to the Northern Air Temple! The storyteller said that his great-grandfather saw airbenders there last week!" Aang nearly shouted.

What's going on, Sai half-grumbled inwardly as he scratched his back. A few hours earlier, their group had joined a campfire with a larger group of travelers and he had opted to sleep earlier instead of listening to the resident storyteller. Sai checked the dark starry night and guessed that he had been asleep for maybe an hour and a half before Aang woke him up.

"Woah, woah, tell me what's happening from the top," he tried to calm down the agitated monk.

Katara intervened since Aang was much too jittery to repeat and explain the situation. "We thought the storyteller's tales of 'air walkers' were just family folktales passed down by generations, but the man said that his great-grandfather saw a living group of air nomads, airbenders even, at the Northern Air Temple not far from here, about a week ago. Aang wants to go check it out."

They were already here, the swordsman realized. He'd admit that a bit of anxiety pooled at the bottom of his gut.

Sai blinked a couple of times before sighing. "So, we're going to have a detour?"

The last few weeks had been spent making a straight as possible beeline for the Northern Water Tribe. In maybe just a few days, they would reach the great Water nation's territory without any interruptions.

"Can we? Please?" Aang pleaded with wide, sparkling eyes. "It'll be just a quick visit, just to check."

Even without checking, the oldest teenager knew that Katara and Sokka were gazing at him with sympathetic looks. It would be entirely too heartless to not let Aang check out the possibility of a secret group of airbenders that might exist, but….

Sai already knew that no air nomads lived in the Northern Air Temple. While it would be heartless to prevent Aang from seeing the place, it was ironically also somewhat cruel if Sai, knowing the truth, were to allow it to happen.

However, Aang wasn't the real reason why Sai was willing to visit the temple.

Shoulders raised and lowered, the swordsman waved his hand. "Of course, we shouldn't stay too long though."

"YES!" Aang airbended into the air, ecstatic.

Sai simply rolled over, closing his eyes and pretending to fall back asleep while Katara and Sokka talked in lowered voices about what it would be to find more living air nomads. Trying to block out the outside noise, the ex-soldier faced in the turmoil in his mind.

There was supposed to be a mechanist in that temple, the one, according to his other world's life, who supplied War Minister Qin with technology for war weapons. Sai snidely thought that even though Minister Qin was supposed to be the Fire Nation's minister of war, the elderly man only knew how to play with weapons as if they were toys like a little boy, but didn't have the brains for actually devising useful tools. Qin knew the basic mechanics behind weapons and machines, however lacked the creative, innovative spark in order to create new inventions. It seemed that the old man had found himself another person to bully into providing weapons to try to pass off as his own inventions in front of the Fire Lord.

One of the biggest takeaway from the incident at the Northern Air Temple had been that Sokka made a valuable friendship with the mechanic, which would benefit them in the future for more technologies. Sai supposed there were other worthwhile merits in visiting the temple.

And besides, it wasn't like he shouldn't believe that he had the power to dictate the nature of the Avatar's travels. The slight tingling of the newly healed skin on his back constantly reminded Sai of how he wouldn't get away with simply deciding how things should go.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The next day, before they took off, Sai purchased a well-tanned coat suitable for cold climates from one of the people in the larger travel band. The merchant was a traveling tanner and hunter, experienced in crafting quality fur for cold weather. Coming from a warm land, Sai didn't own thick clothes and was unused to the bulky fabric. He felt a little awkward wearing the robe due to its heaviness as the tanner's wife, a skilled seamstress, hemmed the lining and length while he wore it.

When she was done, the seamstress patted his cheek fondly. "Fits you very nicely, and matches your eyes."

Sai uncomfortably let out a small smile as he placed a a bronze coin in her hand for her service, glad to be out of her reach. His notable eye color usually caused mild caution among people who had faced violence by the Fire Nation, so he preferred not letting any light reflect against his face. The shadows kept his amber eyes away from scrutiny since more keen-eyed people could easily deduce his natural homeland which would be troublesome.

It was also a good thing that the warm coat could cover most of his clothes underneath. His red and black coloring had been attracting some unwanted attention sometimes whenever they entered villages or towns previously occupied or attacked by Fire Nation army. His new coat was tan in color, with closed off arm sleeves, a hood, and slits along the sides to allow easy leg movement. Due to the heavier material, Sai felt like he was being weighed down, but ultimately, it kept him warm and covered his nationality.

Sai was the last to climb onto the sky bison's back, where the rest of the group had been waiting for him to finish. Aang quickly snapped Appa's reins, eager to get into the air.

"Nice coat," Sokka pointed out with a stuffed mouth of salted dried squid slices. "Want some?"

Sai dipped a hand into the outstretched bag of snacks. "Thanks, I've never really been in colder climates before, so it feels a bit weird."

Seeing Sai shiver from the rush of cold air, Sokka nodded, understanding what the older teenager meant since it's also been a while for him and Katara to wear their larger Water Tribe coats.

"But I don't get how Aang's not freezing right now," Sokka thumbed at the airbender sitting at the bison's head. "Must be his airbending abilities."

The monk had never needed to wear warmer clothes, claiming that no temperature of air really affected him, hot or cold. Sai sometimes envied that part of firebenders and airbenders, they could naturally regulate their body temperatures to keep themselves from being too cold or too hot. It was one of the similarities that fire and airbenders shared in their element.

After an entire morning's flight, the air bison approached the air temple and the group could see tiny figures gliding in the air around the historical building. At first, the Water siblings and the monk were excited at the sight, however within closer inspection, Aang's attitude changed.

With more observation, there was a hugely disappointed tone in Aang's voice. "There's no airbending movements, they're flying with no spirit," he observed sadly.

A solo glider drew close above the saddle, attracting Aang's conflicted glare. And without even alerting the rest of them, the monk whipped out his own glider and took off, leaving behind empty reins and presumably to 'outfly' the bold glider. Shaking his head at the immaturity, Sai carefully but quickly took hold of the reins and guided the bison to land on the closest flat area on the temple.

Once they landed, Sokka and Katara immediately got off the saddle and watched the air show, but Sai stayed on top of the bison's head.

"Sai, you've got to watch them fly!" Katara exclaimed. "They're all incredible."

"I'm sure," Sai said dryly. He was more focused on the numerous mechanical additions to the outer walls of the temple. Dozens of pipes, long and short, thin and thick, some no longer bigger than his arm and others larger than his body sprawled across the walls and arched in the air. The mechanist had definitely been busy since they had moved into the temple.

To be quite honest, Sai didn't really like how it looked visually. He had never been into the whole the steampunk aesthetic, but he knew for sure that Aang wasn't going to take any of the modifications well.

When the glider came down and introduced himself as Teo, Sai followed the paraplegic along with Aang, Katara, and Sokka into the temple.

As they were led by Theo, the wheelchair boy introduced himself to each of them, lastly Sai who had been trailing near the back of the group.

"And your name is?" Theo held out a hand.

The swordsman shook it. "Sai."

"You have an empty scabbard," Theo pointed out, obviously open to hearing the backstory. The paraplegic was incredibly interested in the group, asking them a number of questions about their travels, about the Avatar, while giving them the quick tour.

"Long story."

"Does it involve how you joined the Avatar?"

Sai raised an eyebrow at that. Theo asked sharp questions, must be because he was an inventor's son.

The ex-soldier didn't answer as they crossed a bridge and walked into an untouched section of the temple. Aang marveled at some of the statues lined along the inside of the courtyard walls when a swinging boulder smashed from the other side of the walls.

"Look out!"

Everyone took cover, shielding their faces with their arms and crouching.

When the deafening crumble of stone finally ceased, Sai patted his clothes from the dust and debris. That was way too dangerous, Sai thought.

Out of the smoke and dust, walked in a man with bushy brown hairs and singed eyebrows along with three other men who appeared to be his assistants.

"-have to make room for the bathhouse-"

In response, Aang swung his glider and knocked the large swinging construction boulder out the temple and off the mountainside.

Yeah, Sai thought almost amused. Aang was definitely not taking this well.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Even after hearing the mechanist's understandably saddening story of losing his village, wife, and son's legs to a flood, Sai couldn't help but still lament a little at the destruction of the sacred temple. He sympathized more with Aang in a way. When it came to ancient archaeological sites, Sai preferred preserving such places rather than altering them to fit modern needs.

Seeing how the mechanist would describe airbending as though it could broken down into science, Sai knew that the mad genius was the start of a technological revolution in this world.

It was slightly terrifying.

Reinventing the means of travel, on air, was an incredibly huge turn in the human way of life. It was almost the equivalent of the Wright Brothers' attempts of airplanes.

Sai knew that if the Fire Nation got a hold of that technology, then the world was in trouble. More trouble than the Hundred Year War. The Fire Nation had used the previous comet to wipe out the Air Nations and would have also targeted the Earth Kingdom, however the stubborn nation had an advantage of land mass and terrain. Attempting to invade the Earth Kingdom in its own element would have been like trying to invade Russia during the winter. It doesn't work. Despite this, if the Fire Nation could simply throw firepower from the air, above the ground, then earthbenders wouldn't stand a chance against the military combination of air and fire.

And that was why Sai had stuck around until now. To prevent his home country from accessing this very specific technology.

Sai had made a decision weeks ago, when he had travelled separately from Aang and the others in order to search for June the bounty hunter. Sai knew although he greatly enjoyed the company of the airbender and Water siblings, his time with them was limited. Sooner or later, he would have to leave. He was going to be needed elsewhere for the future purposes when the time comes to formally fight off the Fire Nation's future invasion of the Earth Kingdom.

The only thing was, Sai would probably have to hurt some feelings along the way.

* * *

oOo

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I do not own anything of ATLA.

A/N: Hi, hello, how are you guys, thank you all for the encouraging reviews so far, I really appreciate each and every one of them, please consider this a short chapter, I'm trying to get to the Earth season to get the freaking plot rolling faster, can you tell by the shorter chapter, and I'm rambling, sorry about the shortness, just want to get to more plot, I'm just trying to get through as much as I can while I'm on winter break, o man it's so short, o frick, I just noticed, so sorry -pls don't kill meee-


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